Manchester United transfer news: Ederson can adapt to the Premier League and be flexible for Michael Carrick | Football News

Manchester United midfield must be overhauled this summer and while Ederson alone is not the answer, his signing looks a step in right direction. The 26-year-old Brazil international from Atalanta can bring the dynamism that Michael Carrick needs.

Kobbie Mainoo oozes class but United need different options as they seek to replace the departing Casemiro and the disappointingly limited Manuel Ugarte. Ederson, with whom they have long been linked, looks a smart signing because of his flexibility.

At Atalanta, his adaptability has been illustrated by him partnering players as different as Teun Koopmeiners and Marten de Roon in midfield and proving an adept foil to both. Speaking to his old Corinthians coach Tiago Nunes back in 2024, he summed it up well.

“I think he has the characteristics to play a more purposeful game or a transition game. He has the ability to link up and find the best interpretation of space in a shorter game in short spaces, but he also has the physical ability for a high-speed transition game.”

At United, he will be expected to adjust to these different roles, these different styles. They need an all-rounder and that is what Ederson is – a tackler and a passer, a player to win the ball for his side and then pass it or carry it. He is more than a holding midfielder.

“I see him playing as a box-to-box player, a midfielder who isn’t really someone to build the game but more of a player who can break through lines, get into the final third, progress up the field. I see him more as a midfielder with the freedom to get forward.”

Nunes first worked with Ederson when he was just a fledgling talent in his native Brazil and remembers a player “with characteristics that are difficult to find” in the country. He arrived at Corinthians from Cruzeiro and it took time for him to show his true talent.

“At that time, he was an introverted boy, very focused on what he wanted to achieve, what he wanted from his career, but still with a low level of confidence, who needed a lot of support from his coach, from the people around him, in order to achieve.

“I do not think he even imagined the size of his potential, because he was an athlete who was looking to find the best version of himself and he still had some adapting to do to succeed at a big club like Corinthians. But I am sure it was a year of learning for him.

“He took some time to find his place. There were some points, tactically and mentally, that he needed to develop at that time but he gained that experience with the help of time and games. He matured step by step and, consequently, history speaks for itself.”

Ederson was a revelation at Italian club Salernitana when he first made the move to Europe in January of 2022, helping them to stay up in Serie A for the first time in their history. He was sold to Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta team in the very next window.

Again, an adjustment period was required. Gasperini’s demands are different, a coach famed in Italy for his faster tempo and focus on man-to-man marking. While Ederson’s first season at Atalanta was only a qualified success, he was superb in his second year.

Gasperini described his “evolution on the pitch” as one of the “great satisfactions” of that season – one in which Atalanta finished fourth in Serie A and won the Europa League. They were the only team to beat Xabi Alonso’s Bayern Leverkusen all year.

There are two ways of interpreting the fact that Ederson needed time to adjust at both Corinthians and Atalanta. Some might see it as a concern given that the leap to the Premier League is significant. Others would argue that he soon found the solutions.

The great Italian coach Fabio Capello once praised his “rare tactical intelligence” and that, coupled with his experience of a pressing game for Atalanta, offer encouragement that Ederson is a player suited to the Premier League. Nunes points to key qualities.

“He has two main strengths. Firstly, on the pitch, he has great physical strength, with the ability to play box-to-box, back and forth, sustaining the pace of the game. Secondly, he has a very strong mentality, with a very clear awareness of what he wants.”

That resilience was forged early. Perhaps you will have heard the tale of how his mother packed up for Sao Paulo when he was just 12 in the hope that her son would make it in football. They did not have enough funds for the return journey from the big city.

Ederson grasped that opportunity. Now comes the next one. And there is more to come. “This is a player with a lot of potential that is yet to be developed.” That was Nunes speaking in 2024. Ederson has proven himself to be robust and consistent since then.

“He has the ability and physicality to handle the pace of the game. He is a very vertical player with a lot of pace in the final third of the pitch. This is a player with very particular characteristics who can develop even more in a league as strong as the Premier League.”

Manchester United supporters will want more signings to bolster that midfield. But Ederson seems a sensible acquisition, a player at the right age to make an immediate contribution who can complement anyone they sign next. Expect him to do well.