Manchester United remain interested in a certain £50m-rated Atalanta midfielder Ederson, but contrary to reports, they are yet to have concrete conversations with regard to signing the player.
Ruben Amorim’s side is looking to be adding some steel to the midfield this summer to aid Bruno Fernandes, Manuel Ugarte, and Kobbie Mainoo, and they have identified one such player from Serie A that could possibly help.
The club is aiming to fix the physical issues in the centre of the pitch as well as around it, and adding a player like the one in question would go a long way towards making Manchester United a more combative outfit in the middle of the park.
Regarding Atalanta’s Ederson, his current club had been reluctant to part ways with him previously, and last summer they were aiming to get a fee of over £45 million for the midfielder, who helped them win the Europa League with a victory against Bayer Leverkusen in last year’s final.
United admire the 25-year-old internally, but UtdDistrict understands that concrete conversations to bring him into the club are yet to take place. It is thought that the player’s future is not expected to become clear until the end of the season in Serie A, where his side are focusing on finishing inside the top four.
Manchester United admire Ederson
Sources have confirmed to UtdDistrict that United are interested in Atalanta’s Ederson, but they are yet to hold serious talks about signing him.
This comes after reports from Italy suggesting United had “intensified contacts” for the player and moved ahead of Manchester City in the race, with a bid reportedly set to land with Atalanta in the next few weeks.
The interest from United is longstanding, dating back to last summer, but at the time, it was extremely difficult to convince Atalanta to part ways with the player. Even though things might be easier this summer, the sale of Ederson is still expected to exceed £45 million.
Ederson has interest from several clubs within the Premier League. The situation was similar last year, but Atalanta did not want to budge on selling him unless they received a significant fee and ended up keeping hold of him. Those clubs reportedly include Manchester City and Liverpool.
United signed Manuel Ugarte last summer to try to add some quality and physicality in the centre of the pitch, and Ederson would be someone who could further boost that and ease some of Bruno Fernandes’s burden in the process.
One area that makes Ederson an enticing choice will be his injury record. The Brazilian has missed just two games in his career through injury so far, after a hamstring issue kept him out for just two games in the 22/23 season. Ederson could represent very good value for a club with so many problems with signing players who then become injured.
Ederson is a must-sign player
United need to add a player like Ederson to the midfield. Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Bruno Guimarães ran the midfield ragged on Sunday in the 4-1 defeat, but that becomes a lot less likely with a midfielder like Ederson in the team.
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The Brazilian has experience in a back three, having played under Gian Piero Gasperini over the last couple of seasons, so it is no surprise United have highlighted the player as someone who could help Ruben Amorim’s side.
Kobbie Mainoo is not currently the first choice as number six in Amorim’s system, and Bruno Fernandes is more effective in one of the ten positions. United’s best hope is to replicate the role Casemiro is playing when he does get a chance, and Ederson could provide some of Casemiro’s qualities while being able to cover a lot more ground.
It’s a deal that cannot be described as close, with United still not entering into negotiations with Atalanta or concrete discussions with the player himself, but the interest is real, and he will definitely be one to watch as the summer window draws closer.
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