Following a strong finish to the 2025/26 Premier League campaign, Manchester United will be keen to maintain that momentum heading into what promises to be a pivotal summer transfer window. Having focused on bolstering attack and defence over the previous two years, United’s focus is now anticipated to shift towards midfield.
Multiple additions are expected to arrive, particularly with Casemiro departing the club following his Old Trafford farewell. Replacing the Brazilian will be no straightforward task, but United may already have an ideal like-for-like replacement in their sights – and for a sensible fee too.
Here, Express Sport takes a closer look at the player who should become United’s first acquisition of the window.
Ederson has emerged as a leading target for the Red Devils, who have made signing a combative central midfielder their top transfer priority. The Atalanta star, 26, has been catching the eye in Serie A this season, helping his side secure a seventh-placed finish in the league.
The Italian club are reportedly valuing him at around £38.3million, a figure United are prepared to meet. It is also understood that the player has not only reached a verbal agreement with Michael Carrick’s side but has ‘paused’ transfer discussions with rival clubs in an effort to push through a move to Manchester.
Atalanta manager Raffaele Palladino recently offered an update on Ederson’s future after the midfielder was named as an unused substitute in their 1-1 draw with Fiorentina on Friday evening.
Palladino said: “Ederson out? It was a decision we agreed with the boy because there’s something going on in the transfer market.
“The fact that such a player is being followed by such a big club should be a source of pride.”
Ederson is not the only central midfielder on United’s radar, with Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson also firmly in their sights. However, with Forest anticipated to demand in excess of £100m for the England international, and with Manchester City also keeping a close eye on his situation, any prospective deal looks set to be both costly and challenging to finalise.
For those unfamiliar with him, Ederson is primarily a ball-winning midfielder but possesses the athleticism and technical ability to function in a box-to-box capacity.
He reads the game exceptionally well, consistently posting impressive tackle and recovery statistics by intervening to stifle opposition transitions before they can properly develop.
His tireless work rate and powerful physique make him a formidable presence in midfield confrontations, while his immediate instinct upon winning back possession is almost invariably to surge forward and spark attacks.
Numerous pundits have likened Ederson to Arsenal‘s Declan Rice, while others noticed shades of both Casemiro and former United favourite Ander Herrera. Either way, securing a player of Ederson’s calibre, particularly at such a modest price, would represent a superb opening statement in the summer transfer window for Manchester United.