Andre Onana, a goalkeeper from Cameroon, has been signed by Italian club Inter Milan on a free transfer from Ajax.
Samir Handanovic, 37, will be replaced by the 26-year-old, who has signed a five-year deal with the Serie A team.
Over the course of his seven and a half years with Ajax, Onana made 214 appearances across all leagues.
He was given a 12-month doping suspension in February of last year, which was later reduced to nine months on appeal. As a result, he was forced to leave the team.
After making a comeback to competitive football in November of last year, he assisted Cameroon in finishing third at the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year on home soil.
At the World Cup later this year in Qatar, the former Barcelona teenager is predicted to start at quarterback for the Indomitable Lions.
Onana only made 10 first-team appearances for Ajax last season after declining a new contract offer.
He will follow Pierre Wome, Daniel Maa Boumsong, and Samuel Eto’o as the fourth Cameroonian to play for Inter.
Inter have been active since the transfer market opened, after finishing second in Serie A last season, two points behind cross-city rivals AC Milan.
Romelu Lukaku, a striker, has been re-signed by the Nerazzurri on loan from Chelsea, and Kristjan Asllani, a midfielder, has been acquired from Empoli.
Andre Onana
André Onana Onana (born 2 April 1996) is a Cameroonian goalkeeper who competes for both the national team of Cameroon and Serie A club Inter Milan.
Club career
Onana, a Nkol Ngok native, began his career at the Samuel Eto’o Foundation before joining Barcelona in 2010. He joined Dutch team Ajax in July 2015.
Later that month, the transfer was moved forward. In February 2015, he made his Eerste Divisie debut with Jong Ajax. In May 2017, he agreed to a new deal with Ajax that lasted until 2021. He got a new contract in March 2019 that ran through June 2022. He expressed interest in playing in the English Premier League in November of 2019.
Onana tested positive for the prohibited drug furosemide in February 2021, and UEFA imposed a 12-month suspension on him. Ajax said that he accidentally took his wife’s medication and that they would appeal the ruling. The Court of Arbitration for Sport shortened the suspension to nine months in June.
He was rumored to be moving to the Italian club Inter Milan in January 2022. He made his intention to leave Ajax known in May 2022.
Inter Milan formally announced Onana’s deal on July 1st, 2022.
Andre Onana Personal life
Former Cameroon youth international Onana was selected for Cameroon’s team to play France in a friendly in May 2016.
In a 2-1 friendly victory against Gabon in September 2016, Onana made his Cameroon debut. He participated in the third-place match between Burkina Faso and the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
Honors
Ajax
- Eredivisie: 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22
- KNVB Cup: 2018–19, 2020–21
- Johan Cruyff Shield: 2019
- UEFA Europa League runners-up: 2016–17
Cameroon
- 2021 Africa Cup of Nations third place.
Individual
- Indomitable Lion of the Year (Cameroonian footballer of the year): 2018
- Best African Goalkeeper: 2018
- Eredivisie Team of the Year: 2018–19
- CAF Team of the Year: 2019
- IFFHS CAF Men Team of The Year: 2020
