Ederson’s move to Manchester United is still alive despite one report claiming it had collapsed. The club’s side of the story is the more important one here: United journalist Tyrone Marshall said the move was still on, and the reporting around the transfer has also differed on fee, add-ons and timing.

The deal is still being described as agreed

The version United have pushed is simple enough. The deal was described as fully agreed with Atalanta and the player, with Ederson due to have his medical after the World Cup. TEAMtalk said a £35million agreement was in place, while the Manchester Evening News reported £35million plus £3.8m in add-ons. GiveMeSport put the package at £38m including add-ons.

That spread matters because it shows the transfer has not actually been knocked off course, it has just been reported differently. Tyrone Marshall’s line was blunt enough: Ederson’s move to the club “is still ON.”

Ederson has also been in decent form for Atalanta. His last five appearances average 7.1, with peaks of 8.2 and 7.0, which is hardly the profile of a player United are taking a blind leap on.

United’s midfield shortlist is wider than one name

The other part of the story is that Manchester United are not treating Ederson as the only option. Mark Critchley said the names he has heard most prominently are Alex Scott at Bournemouth and Felix Nmecha, adding that United have contacted Bournemouth to explore the parameters of a deal for Scott.

Critchley also said there is potential for Nmecha to fit the homegrown quota, which is an issue United face this season. He added that there have been reports in Germany of Nmecha’s fee being over €100m (£86m), although he said that has not put United off. The same source also mentioned Andrey Santos as part of the wider list, with Chelsea valuing him at £50million.

United finished third in the Premier League with 71 points, and they won four of their last five league matches. That is why they can keep moving on multiple targets at once, rather than treating one midfield deal as the whole summer.

The clearest reading is that Ederson is still in play and the transfer noise around him is mostly about how many different midfield paths United are keeping open at the same time.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →