Man Utd can now sign 'monstrous' 24yo midfielder for £42m, could replace Casemiro - report
Manchester United need to pay £42 million to sign Atalanta midfielder Ederson this summer, according to TuttoJuve.
The Red Devils are preparing for a busy summer transfer window and a new midfielder could be one of the priorities for manager Erik ten Hag.
Sofyan Amrabat looks likely to return to Fiorentina after his loan spell while Christian Eriksen could be sold after seeing limited playing time last term.
There are also doubts over the future of Casemiro, who struggled with form and injury concerns during the course of the 2023/24 campaign.
Tuttojuve now confirm that the Red Devils are one of the admirers of Ederson, who could be prised away from Atalanta for around £42m this summer.
The Brazilian is also on the radar of several other Premier League clubs, but Juventus are unlikely to enter the race as they cannot afford the price tag.
United could have advantage in Ederson pursuit
The Brazilian generally operates from the defensive midfield position for Atalanta. His positioning is his main strength. This is something lacked during the recent campaign.
Casemiro was often caught out of position with his urge to press forward. This opened up the United defence, allowing the opposition to make goalscoring attempts.
Ederson could be an ideal replacement for Casemiro in the starting XI. Just like his compatriot, the 24-year-old is strong when it comes to winning tackles and duels.
He is brilliant in making ball recoveries and was described as ‘monstrous‘ by manager Gian Piero Gasperini last month.
Ederson is also a better distributor of the ball and loses possession less often than Casemiro. He is just in the prime of his career. United should look to sign him at the reported price.
They could have an advantage over their rivals due to their good working relationship with Atalanta. They have already signed Rasmus Hojlund and Amad Diallo from the Bergamo outfit.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com