Manchester United owners Ineos might not be ready to replace goalkeeper Andre Onana immediately, but it’s certainly a subject on the agenda of the Old Trafford board.
Onana has the reputation of being a calamity keeper after a difficult two years at Man Utd, where he was a hurried replacement for David de Gea.
And now Ineos are looking at buying the goalkeeper who was statistically the best in Europe last season when it came to shot-stopping. There’s a catch, though: he is poised to join Nice.
Why Yehvann Diouf is Europe’s best shot-stopper
Reims shot-stopper Yehvann Diouf is set to hook up with Ineos’ Ligue 1 side after an extraordinary season for the Champagne outfit.
Diouf led Europe’s Big 5 leagues in a key measure of shot-stopping ability by a mile. His PSxG-GA, which is essentially a figure that calculates how many goals a keeper prevented over the course of the season, was, by a runaway margin, the best among the elite in 2024/25.
Diouf prevented 14.6 goals for Reims over the course of the campaign or 0.43 per 90 minutes.
There was only one other goalkeeper across the Big 5 leagues into double figures, which was Angers shot-stopper Yahia Fofana, who has been linked with Leeds United and several sides in Serie A.
The best shot-stoppers in the Big 5 leagues: 2024/25
| Name | Club | PSxG-GA |
|---|---|---|
| Yehvann Diouf | Reims | 14.6 |
| Yahia Fofana | Angers | 12.5 |
| Vanja Milinkovic-Savic | Torino | 9.4 |
| Nikola Vasilj | St Pauli | 8.4 |
| Djordje Petrovic | Strasbourg (on loan from Chelsea) | 7.9 |
Jordan Pickford was the best in the Premier League at 4.8, with Onana’s figure coming in at 1.0, which is actually above average. Indeed, it is better than Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez (0.8), who has been linked with Man Utd lately.
Le Parisien reports that the 25-year-old Diouf is set to join Nice. Details of the move are as yet vague, but it appears that the Ligue 1 side have beaten Lens and Torino to the keeper.
He will replace Marcin Bulka, who after being linked with several top European sides, is rumoured to be joining ‘trillion dollar’ club Neom in Saudi Arabia.
This is a potentially pivotal move for Man Utd, who will be monitoring the progress of Diouf while at Nice.
Although they have been reluctant to do business with their Ligue 1 sister club, if Diouf continues his stellar form, United will surely find a way to bring him to Old Trafford.
Football transfer news headlines today
The FootballTransfers app
Check out FootballTransfers’ new app for all of football’s big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.
The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:
