Arsenal are lining up a move for Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana, but a summer approach could depend on the verdict of the player’s doping ban appeal, Goal.com reports.
The Cameroon international was handed a 12-month suspension by UEFA earlier in February after he was found to have taken a banned substance for treatment.
As part of the ban, the 25-year-old is not allowed to get involved with Ajax in any form, which includes training with his teammates or celebrating silverware.
Onana is awaiting his appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in June, and it is reported that the punishment could be reduced to eight months.
If his appeal is successful, the Gunners could sign him for around £7 million, much less than Ajax’s £12m valuation. He has two years left on his contract.
Sportslens view:
Onana can return to training two months before the suspension ends, and it could be by August if the CAS agree to reduce the ban.
The Gunners currently have Bernd Leno as their first-choice goalkeeper, while Mat Ryan on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion has been the deputy.
It has been reported that the club are in advanced negotiations with Brighton to land Ryan on a permanent deal worth £5 million this summer.
Any move for Onana may have a direct impact on the future of Leno, whose form has been inconsistent during the second half of the season.
Leno has two years remaining on his Gunners contract, and the club have yet to open negotiations over a new long-term deal.
The 29-year-old recently said that he is ‘open to everything‘, and the club could consider his sale if they manage to land Onana this summer.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
Read: Martin Keown critical of Thomas Partey’s Arsenal display vs Villarreal.
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