Man United have 'advantage' in race for £60m ace hailed as 'out of this world'
Man United are reportedly rivalled by Manchester City and Juventus for the midfielder this summer.
Man United have already reportedly added talent in attack, by agreeing to pay the £62.5m release clause in Matheus Cunha’s contract at Wolves. However, they are aiming to strengthen in other positions too as we move closer to the summer transfer window.
If they can beat Tottenham in the Europa League final, they would qualify for the Champions League, which would provide them with both a bigger transfer budget, and pulling power in the summer.
With the futures of Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro uncertain, and Christian Eriksen set to leave, United are likely to sign a central midfielder this summer, and they are reportedly battling with Man City and Juventus to sign one talented option in particular.
Man United take ‘advantage’ in Ederson race
One player that the Red Devils have already been linked to this summer is Atalanta’s Ederson, who plays as a slightly more defensive midfielder, which means that he would fit in well next to the likes of Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo for United.
Man City and Juventus are also reportedly keen to sign Ederson, with City targeting the Brazilian midfielder in order to ease some of the workload on Rodri, who suffered a severe ACL injury this year.
Sportitalia journalist Alfredo Pedulla posted on X: “There have been new contacts and there will be more after the Europa League final. United has the advantage of having moved earlier than Manchester City and Juventus (two other interested clubs), but agreements with Atalanta are needed, which is asking for a minimum of 60 million.”
It could be tricky for United to afford Ederson alongside the £60m plus signing of Cunha, so they will likely hope to get some windfall from sales of Marcus Rashford (£40m), Antony (£32m plus) and Jadon Sancho (£25m) in order to help fund a move for the 25-year-old.
Ederson has made 48 appearances for the Serie A side this season, scoring five goals and two assists. However, his impact in midfield is undermined by the statistics. Former England manager Fabio Capello has been full of praise for the midfielder. He told Gazetta dello Sport: “He is out of this world for his ability to combine running, physicality, technique and intelligence.” - Seeing as United need to dominate games in midfield more, Ederson could be the ideal signing for Amorim this summer.
Could United sell Mainoo or Casemiro?
If they were to invest at least £60m to sign Ederson, it would spark questions surrounding United midfielders Mainoo and Casemiro. Casemiro has just one year left on his contract at Old Trafford, meaning that if United wanted to get some form of financial return for the Brazilian, they should either extend his deal, or sell him this summer. However, due to a couple of down years and him being 33 years old, Casemiro isn’t expected to be worth a lot; TransferMarkt values him at around £10m.
Meanwhile, Mainoo has been linked with a move to Chelsea as his contract extension talks stalled with United due to his high wage demands. United would be able to generate significant profit on the England international, who would be considered ‘pure profit’ as he is an academy product.
Mainoo is estimated to be worth around £50m, however, reports earlier in the season suggested that United wouldn’t sell the 20-year-old for less than £70m, especially if it was to rivals Chelsea.