Manchester United’s transfer priority will be pulled into focus this weekend when Casemiro bids farewell to Old Trafford. Sunday’s clash with Nottingham Forest will be the Brazil international’s penultimate appearance for the club and will undoubtedly be an emotional day for the midfielder.
Casemiro may not have won trophies to the same extent he did with Real Madrid, but the 34-year-old is still a fan favourite. This season he has been particularly impressive, with Casemiro racking up his best goalscoring season ever with nine to his name so far. Chants of ‘one more year’ have fallen on deaf ears though and this summer is the right time for both parties to move on.
Such is the brutal nature of football, United must already look to the future. This week, the Manchester Evening News reported that Atalanta midfielder Ederson is on the Reds’ radar as they look to bolster their midfield.
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A fee of £40m is understood to be enough to sign the 26-year-old but he is seen as a risk by some. His lack of Premier League experience has raised eyebrows but Ederson has shown he can be a fast learner.
Salernitana signed the midfielder from Corinthians in January 2022. By the summer, Atalanta had seen enough of him to sign him up. Since then, he has made 179 appearances for the Serie A club as they became a regular participant in the Champions League. According to Football Italia editor Lorenzo Bettoni, Ederson has what it takes to replace Casemiro.
“I think we are talking about a similar kind of midfielder [to Casemiro],” he told the Manchester Evening News. “Perhaps Ederson has a few more goals in his feet than Casemiro but I would not say he is an attacking midfielder. He is one of those modern midfielders right now that when it gets towards the end of his career, he could become a proper holding midfielder with a little bit more quality than the average holding midfielder.
“He can be a replacement for Casemiro. They are both Brazilians but what they do on the pitch is pretty similar.
“A modern midfielder. Somebody who has quality but has also defensive skills, great positioning, he’s a complete machine really.
Ederson poses with the man of the match award after his performance in last weekend’s 3-2 victory over AC Milan
“He has been one of the best midfielders in Serie A over the last few years. I think his main strength is positioning. He is a remarkable midfielder.
“He is a midfielder you would find everywhere when he is on his day. He reads the game well. Tactically, he is really, really good.
“I would say that, especially for a top club, it is very important [to have] these types of players you can rely on, especially in the big games. A player who can read the game, understand where the game is going, I think that is his main strength.”
This season has not been Ederson’s best, Bettoni admits. He has just five goal contributions (three goals and two assists) in all competitions but there are some extenuating circumstances.
Atalanta are going through a transitional year with their sporting director Tony D’Amico set to leave at the end of the campaign. There are expected to be plenty of changes in the summer and Ederson leaving is highly likely.
“No, not at all [surprised to see him leave]. The Atalanta director has already said that they will consider offers for players and it is the typical Atalanta policy when it comes to transfers, signing, selling players,” Bettoni said.
“They are probably the best run club in Europe, in Italy, alongside Napoli because they play in Europe, they are profitable and this has always been the strategy. Atalanta will get a new director now but I think the strategy of the club will not change because the owners stay the same and they have been the same for many years.
“I think maybe around £40m would be enough to sign him and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him leave.”
But there are one or two hurdles United would need to overcome. First is the timing. Bettoni expects a few Atalanta players to be on the move but he sees little appetite from the Italian club to allow all their players to leave.
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“There are rumours Bayern Munich are interested in signing Charles De Ketelaere. There are other players as well. Marco Palestra, who is coming back from a loan at Cagliari, they have got Marco Carnesecchi who has also been linked with Manchester United in the past,” he explained.
“I don’t see them selling all these players. The timing could be crucial as if they sell one, maybe two stars or even just one star, they are not necessarily going to sell another one because they don’t want to restart.
“They are a selling club, but they want to keep the team small and make just a couple of changes. So maybe if the first to go is Ederson, or one of the other players, it means the other teams are then out of the race.”
United are not alone in their interest. Inter are seen as long-term admirers of Ederson. Meanwhile, Juventus are keen to add a midfielder to their squad and have the 26-year-old’s former teammate Teun Koopmeiners on the books.
AS Roma are also considered an option, especially if D’Amico, as Bettoni believes, joins them. He would link up with former Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini in Rome.
That could put them in the mix for Ederson, should their finances allow it. If United want Ederson, it seems they will have to move quickly or risk missing out entirely.
