Man Utd 'closing in' on signing of possible Andre Onana successor after Arsenal & Chelsea 'interest'

Manchester United are hopeful of completing a deal to sign Scotland wonderkid Callan McKenna, according to reports.

The 17-year-old goalkeeper has broken into the Queen’s Park ranks this season, making seven league appearances earlier in the campaign. An injury ruled him out for two months but he has been back on the bench in recent weeks.

McKenna is a Scotland under-18 international and could fetch his club over £1million if add-ons are met in the coming years. A report by The Daily Record claims United have had the youngster on trial and fended off interest from Arsenal and Chelsea.

The move could hint at a possible sign for the future under Sir Jim Ratcliffe as he plots his United rebuild. Carrington is viewed as an area that needs improvement, with the quality of infrastructure and personnel lagging behind their European counterparts since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.

Recruiting top prospects from across Britain could signal a more prudent approach from Ratcliffe and right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford. The goalkeeping position has proven a problem for Erik ten Hag this season despite signing former protégé Andre Onana for big money.

The £47million man has made several high-profile blunders, forcing many to criticise the decision to part ways with David de Gea following the expiration of his contract in the summer. United did, however, hold talks with Cameroon about delaying his departure to the African Cup of Nations so he could feature in the FA Cup win over Wigan Athletic as well as in Sunday's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur.

Summer signing Altay Bayindir is expected to step up during the 27-year-old's month-long absence. He arrived from Turkish giants Fenerbahce for around £5million last year.

Ten Hag recently addressed Onana's planned departure and is confident United can cope without him. He said: "At some point Andre will go. We are totally happy and we constructed this group of keepers because we are comfortable with this. We have confidence in them and both are very good keepers, experienced at the highest levels.

“We can have a lot of belief that we have coverage but not only coverage but competition between those two or three. We are sure that if Andre has to go we are in a good place and have a good replacement to fill that gap.”