AFC Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana has left the door wide open for a potential return to former club Barcelona when his contract expires in the summer.
Speaking in a recent interview, as quoted by Tribal Football, AFC Ajax and Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana has hinted that he could be joining Barcelona in the summer transfer window when his contract runs out.
Onana came through the youth ranks at Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy. The shot-stopper spent close to five years at the club between 2010 and 2015 before he moved to Ajax in search of a faster progression to first-team football.
The move proved to be the right one for the 25-year-old who has grown into a mainstay for the Dutch giants, going on to feature 205 times to date, in which he has 83 clean sheets. The appearance count would have been much higher if not for the nine-month doping ban that Onana was hit earlier this year, as a result of which he was ineligible to play between February and November.
Having completed his ban, the Cameroonian international returned to action last month and has played one game for Ajax. But with his contract set to run out at the end of the season, both parties have confirmed that they will be parting ways.
It has led to major speculations surrounding the future of Onana. There have been widespread reports claiming that the goalkeeper already has an agreement in place to join Inter Milan, while former club Barcelona remain interested in signing him back as well.
Addressing the rumours, Onana has claimed that there is no agreement with Inter Milan while also insisting that Barcelona would always be his first option should a chance to return come along. “A lot has been said [about Inter], but also about Arsenal, Barça, obviously. There’s nothing at the moment. The media are part of my life, and there are times when I get lost!
“I am still in contact with Barça. I have kept a really good relationship with them since I left. Barça is my home and there’s always been contact. My first option? Obviously. It’s my home and I grew up there. If it’s Barça, it will be Barça.”
Barcelona are reportedly considering the prospect of selling Marc-Andre ter Stegen after his recent indifferent form. Onana has emerged as a viable replacement for the German international. Now, with the Cameroonian stopper also leaving the door open for a return, a transfer could be on the cards come summer.
