Former Inter goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi believes that Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana is the right option to replace Nerazzurri captain Samir Handanovic in goal in the long term.

Speaking to Italian broadcaster CMIT TV, the 46-year-old gave the view that Handanovic can still make significant contributions to the club, and suggested that Onana is the right option for the long term.

Handanovic has come in for criticism this season, with some high profile errors leading to suggestions that the club will have to move on from him quickly.

However, the Slovenian also showed his qualities with important saves in the first half of games against Sassuolo and Fiorentina crucial to keeping his side in the matches.

The Nerazzurri have been searching for a long-term successor to the Slovenian for some months, with Ajax’s Onana one of the likeliest candidates, but Castellazzi believes that they should still remain faithful to Handanovic as he can still bring lots to the team.

“In my opinion he is not to be changed immediately,” the former keeper stated, “in terms of technical and physical guarantees he still has some for me, he is also captain among other things.”

He continued, “Overthrowing him now seems premature, obviously some reflections on the eventual replacement must be made. From the perspective of planning the evaluations must be made. Physically, Samir is still fine in my opinion, but he has not always looked like himself, that is, his form has fluctuated.”

“There have been some matches where he was the protagonist and others with some errors,” he stated. “However, sooner or later there will be a change, more for personal than technical reasons.”

For the replacement for Handanovic, Castellazzi backs Onana, who he feels has the right profile to hold down the position in the modern game.

“I prefer him to Leno, he is the modern goalkeeper ,” he said of the Cameroonian. “He plays very well with his feet and in this respect he is excellent, I’ve followed him a lot and I must say that even in the interpretation of the role he is very intelligent.”

Castellazzi explained, “He has great athleticism, he is young and can be an important alternative to Handanovic because he represents the prototype of today’s goalkeeper – not only between the posts, but he also knows manage other situations.”