Man Utd make unexpected offer to sign 25yo Brazilian star in Wednesday meeting - report
Manchester United are aiming to sign a new midfielder before the transfer deadline.
The Red Devils have had a good transfer window and they have already signed Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui.
A holding midfielder is the next priority for United and Alfredo Pedulla claims that the club made a verbal offer to sign Ederson from Atalanta.
Representatives from United and Atalanta had a meeting yesterday to settle some paperwork related to the sale of Rasmus Hojlund last year.
During the process, the Red Devils made a bid worth £42.6 million for Ederson, but it was immediately turned down by Atalanta.
The Bergamo outfit don’t want to lose the Brazilian with just nine days left to find a replacement.
The relationship between the clubs remains ‘excellent’. There is a possibility that United could make a fresh approach for the 25-year-old in future.
United more likely to sign Ugarte after Ederson blow
The Red Devils have been evaluating their options for the defensive midfield role.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Manuel Ugarte remains the top target, but Ederson has been linked too. It is now clear that Atalanta have no plans of parting ways with the latter.
United are likely to place their entire focus on landing Ugarte. Les Parisien reported last night that the club are on the verge of reaching an agreement with Paris Saint-Germain.
The clubs are negotiating payment terms over a £51m package and all parties are confident that an agreement will be reached before the transfer deadline on August 30.
Ugarte would be a much better signing than Ederson in our opinion. The 23-year-old has played just one season in Europe’s top-five leagues, but he has immense potential.
The Uruguayan completed 91% passes last term compared to Ederson’s 84%. He made more tackles and recoveries (3.9 & 7.2 vs 2.3 & 5.2) than the former Salernitana man.
The ex-Sporting man lacks the goalscoring ability of Ederson, but United’s main focus should be on the defensive aspect where Ugarte has fared better than the Brazilian.
Stats from Sofascore.com