Manchester United have their sights on signing one of Atalanta’s best midfielders next year, according to Tuttomercatoweb journalist Marco Conterio.
The Red Devils had a huge spending spree in the last transfer window and the primary focus was on bolstering the backline for former manager Erik ten Hag.
The club also strengthened the midfield with the signing of Manuel Ugarte. Ugarte had a slow start but has turned into a key player under new boss Ruben Amorim.
Conterio now claims that the Red Devils have ‘total approval’ to sign another midfielder. They have identified Atalanta’s Ederson as the ideal target to replace Casemiro.
The Brazilian star is valued at £50 million by the Serie A leaders. However, a deal is unlikely in January as he is ‘absolutely unsellable‘ with Atalanta in the title race.
Casemiro is no longer in the prime of his career. The 32-year-old had a good start to the season but his tendency to lose possession has been exploited by several clubs.
Amorim prefers to work with midfielders who can provide control of proceedings in midfield. Ederson would be a superb acquisition as he can play in multiple positions.
The Brazilian can operate from the holding and central midfield roles. He has a passing accuracy of 87 percent this campaign and has won five duels with 5.5 recoveries per outing.
Ederson has also excelled with his positioning, long balls and tireless work rate. The former Salernitana man has chipped in with goal contributions too and would be a splendid purchase.
United have a good working relationship with Atalanta, having signed Rasmus Hojlund and Amad Diallo in the past and they should not have trouble negotiating for Ederson next summer.
The Bergamo outfit are unlikely to provide any discount on the transfer, but United could convince them to accept a lesser fee up front with the remaining in the form of performance add-ons.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
Article written by Sri Aswin .
