Manchester United Working on Deal to Sign Japanese Goalkeeper Zion Suzuki
Manchester United are working on a deal to sign Japanese goalkeeper Zion Suzuki as one of three options to come in and serve as their second choice goalkeeper next season. There remains plenty of uncertainty over goalkeepers at Old Trafford with David de Gea departing the club with Dean Henderson expected to join Nottingham Forest later this summer.
Tom Heaton, who started in United’s first pre-season game against Leeds, has been offered first-team football with Luton and Everton next season. United are thought to be closing in on a deal to sign Andre Onana from Inter Milan with Erik ten Hag identifying him as de Gea’s long-term replacement.
But with major uncertainty over Henderson and Heaton’s futures, the club are seeking to bring in another option to serve as Onana’s understudy. Reports in Japan last week claimed United are interested in 20-year-old Urawa Red Diamonds goalkeeper Suzuki, having tracked his progress for a number of years.
United Close to Wrapping Up Deal for Onana
Fabrizio Romano reports United are working on a deal to sign the American-born goalkeeper but have not yet opened talks with Urawa Reds as they are focusing on getting a deal for Onana over the line first. United would reportedly need to pay £5million to sign Suzuki, a record fee for a Japanese player eclipsing the £4.5m Celtic paid to sign Kyogo Furuhashi in 2021.
Suzuki however is one of three goalkeepers United are considering for the back-up role. United have been previously linked with Dinamo Zagreb’s Dominik Livakovic, who starred for Croatia at last winter’s World Cup. The club have also expressed interest in Feyenoord star Justin Bijlow, although given his profile at the Dutch champions it would be assumed he would be considered as an alternative to Onana, rather than a back-up.
United are thought to be close to reaching a full agreement with Inter over a £47m deal for Onana. After previous offers were rejected – the first of which was worth £41m – United have now submitted a ‘final verbal proposal’ that is expected to be accepted by Inter. The deal is worth €50m (£42.7m) plus a further €5m (£4.3m) in add-ons and the two clubs are now discussing the structure of those payments.
Other Options for United
The club are looking at other options should they fail to reach an agreement with Inter over Onana. Suzuki is one of those options, along with Dinamo Zagreb’s Livakovic and Feyenoord’s Bijlow. All three players have been linked with United in recent weeks and it appears the club are keen to bring in another goalkeeper as a back-up option.
It remains to be seen whether United will be successful in their pursuit of Suzuki, Livakovic or Bijlow, but it appears the club are keen to bring in another goalkeeper as soon as possible. With de Gea leaving and Henderson potentially joining Forest, it is clear that United need to bring in another goalkeeper to provide competition for Onana.
Conclusion
Manchester United are working on a deal to sign Japanese goalkeeper Zion Suzuki as one of three options to come in and serve as their second choice goalkeeper next season. The club are also looking at Dinamo Zagreb’s Dominik Livakovic and Feyenoord’s Justin Bijlow as potential back-up options should they fail to reach an agreement with Inter Milan over Andre Onana.
It remains to be seen whether United will be successful in their pursuit of any of these players, but it is clear that the club need to bring in another goalkeeper as soon as possible. With de Gea leaving and Henderson potentially joining Forest, it is clear that United need to bring in another goalkeeper to provide competition for Onana.