Inter have lined up Empoli goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario as their replacement for Andre Onana should the 27-year-old be sold, which currently looks to be more probable than a sale of Denzel Dumfries during the summer transfer window.
This according to today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, via FCInterNews, who report that the Nerazzurri are making firm preparations for the possibility that Onana could leave in the form of a move for Vicario.
Whilst Inter would hardly be keen to sell Onana just one season after his arrival, particularly given his heroics in the Champions League this season, factors could line up that would see the Cameroonian on his way.
Firstly, there is the fact that if the Nerazzurri were to miss out on qualification for the Champions League next season they would have little choice but to listen to offers for some of their highest-value players.
Whilst Dumfries had persistently been linked with a sale in this sense, it now looks as though Onana is the player with the firmest transfer interest, specifically from Chelsea who have made him a major target.
If the Blues are to make an offer of sufficient size, the Corriere reports, the Nerazzurri would likely feel that they could not be completely deaf to it.
Accordingly, the succession plan in goal would change, with Onana having been brought in from Ajax as the long-term replacement for captain Samir Handanovic, but potentially on his way as early as just twelve months after arriving.
The Corriere confirms reports that it could well be Empoli’s Vicario who arrives to take the 27-year-old’s place.
There have been concrete contacts between Inter and both the player and his club, and he would be lined up as the main priority target to replace Onana.
Meanwhile, the Corriere also report that Atalanta-owned Cremnonese keeper Marco Carnesecchi is also on Inter’s radar.
