Man Utd told to beat Tottenham to €40m Atalanta star seen as perfect upgrade for flop Ratcliffe wants gone
Ederson Silva is a target for Manchester United and Tottenham
Manchester United have been urged to do all in their power to sign Atalanta midfielder Ederson this summer after the Tottenham target produced a midfield masterclass in the Europa League final and proved why he is the best man to replace a star Sir Jim Ratcliffe is determined to move on.
The British billlionaire has been given full sporting control at Old Trafford after buying 27.7% of the club’s shares from the Glazers in February for a cool £1.3bn – and is wasting little time in making his authority felt. Indeed, Ratcliffe has made a number of key appointments behind the scenes, with a crack team of specialists all assembling to help transform Manchester United‘s fortunes both on and off the field.
To that end, Ratcliffe has already bid farewell to the long-serving Richard Arnold as CEO with Omar Berrada coming in from Manchester City in his place, while much-respected Frenchman Jean-Claude Blanc arrives as a director. John Murtough has also been replaced as football director, with Jason Wilcox (technical director) and Dan Ashworth (sporting director) both forming a new-look backroom team designed to ensure United have the best chance of landing the best players around.
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And with the five men getting their heads together over the make-up of the United squad, big things are expected this summer with a mass shake-up of players both coming and going through the Old Trafford doors.
Indeed, United have already shown the door to two high-earning but under-performing stars in Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial, with the duo allowed to leave at the end of their contracts and saving United a whopping £590,000 a week in wages in the process.
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However, the departure of the two Frenchman is just the tip of the iceberg and Ratcliffe and Co are expected to take quite a large swathe through the rest of the squad, with several other players expected to move on.
To that end, we understand that only a handful of players – namely Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount, Andre Onana, Kobbie Mainoo, Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho are excempt from sale this summer – with all offers considered for the remainder of their squad.
And that could yet result in the departure of several other big names, and amid a belief that Ratcliffe is desperate to get another high-earning star in Casemiro off the club’s books.
The Brazilian was a star performer in his first season at Old Trafford, but his form has nosedived this season with his performances causing mass debate and rows among a series of pundits and observers. Among his biggest critics is Jamie Carragher, who absolutely roasted the player in the wake of United’s 4-0 hammering at Crystal Palace recently and claimed his time was up as a Premier League player.
Those comments, however, have since drawn some criticism themself with a former Red Devil hitting out at the Liverpool icon for a lack of respect.
However, it seems Ratcliffe is in agreement and we understand he has cleared the path for the 32-year-old to move on, placing an attractive €30m to €40m (£25.6m to £34m) asking price on his head and amid claims he could become a major target for clubs in either MLS or Saudi Arabia.
Man Utd urged to do everything possible to sign Ederson
In the meantime, speculation has begun over whom United could target to strengthen their midfield in place of the Brazilian.
And while the likes of Adrien Rabiot, Joao Neves and Morten Hjulmand have been linked, Thursday’s Euro Paper Talk has an update on a Ratcliffe move to bring in a Monaco midfielder on a cut-price deal.
However, there is a growing school of thought that suggests United are ready to make a beeline to sign Atalanta’s brilliant Brazilian Ederson Silva, who showcased his superb talents in Wednesday’s Europa League final in their 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in Dublin.
The match brought an end to Leverkusen’s incredible 51-game unbeaten run and delivered Atalanta a first major trophy since 1963. And while English winger Ademola Lookman stole the show with a brilliant hat-trick, it was the solid and steady performance of Ederson in their midfield which made Gian Piero Gasperini’s side tick.
The 24-year-old has been at the club since a 2022 move from Italian side Salernitana and has been likened in the past to Roy Keane. He completed 23 of his 27 short passes on Wednesday night, keeping them ticking over in the engine room.
He also completed his two dribbles too, proving himself a ball carrier, though it was his work in protecting the defence, where he won eight of his 12 duels to break up the Leverkusen attack that really caught the eye and ruined Xabi Alonso’s dreams of a second trophy of the month.
Alongside Teun Koopmeiners they controlled the midfield, leaving former Arsenal man Granit Xhaka looking second best for long periods of the match.
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Ederson has also been strongly linked with a move to Tottenham this summer, but Man Utd YouTuber Mark Goldbridge is urging Ratcliffe to do all in his power to sign the player for the Red Devils with a simple eight-word message on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Need this to be true. Sign Ederson up.’
Goldbridge has previously championed the case to sign Ederson, saying last month: “Ederson at Atalanta could be a good replacement for Casemiro, a progressive type of midfielder.
“Predominantly, we need centre-backs but we have so many injured centre-backs at the moment, it is hard to tell who is going to stay and who will go.”
Also advising a move for Michael Olise, Goldbridge added: “But in the midfield and attack, I’d go for those players.”