Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City to battle for £50m Brazil star with key contracts set to expire
Arne Slot and Liverpool have found some early season success as the Dutch manager seems to have established a balance to his midfield which Jurgen Klopp could not.
Slot has won nine of his 10 games in charge as Liverpool boss so far, with a trio of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai featuring predominantly, offering the perfect blend of control in possession, as well as a will to win the ball back.
However, question marks do feature around Slot with many believing the Reds are yet to face a tough test. No, beating Manchester United at Old Trafford is not a test.
According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, Slot sees Brazil international Ederson as the missing piece to his jigsaw. We can already hear the ‘Why did they sign Mamardashvili in the summer then?’ shouts. Not that Ederson, though we’ve always yearned for Pep Guardiola to give his goalkeeper a shot in midfield.
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We introduce to you Atalanta’s all action midfielder, Ederson. The Reds are reportedly set to make a move for the 25-year-old, who played an important role in the Italian side lifting the Europa League last season, with the Anfield hierarchy understanding what he’s all about as he featured in both leg’s last season when Liverpool were beat by Atalanta at the quarter final stage on route to their European success.
Liverpool are not alone in the race though, with Premier League rivals Arsenal and Manchester City also keen to secure his signature. Now Mikel Arteta signing anyone but a defender certainly comes as a surprise, but there’s no shock that City and Guardiola seem to be interested in making yet another addition to their squad.
Whoever wins the race for Ederson, who Atalanta signed from Salernitana in 2022, will have to cough up around £50m, with the midfielder currently on a contract that runs until 2027.
Atalanta are no strangers to selling their prize assets to English clubs, demanding big fees, as we saw with their sales of Cristian Romero to Tottenham in 2021 for £42m and Rasmus Hojlund to Manchester United last summer for £64m.
Since moving to Bergamo, Ederson has cemented himself as one of manager Gian Pierro Gasperini’s trusted men, impressing in Champions League game’s against Arsenal and Shakhtar Donetsk this season.
For the Gunners, midfielder’s Thomas Partey and Jorginho have entered the final year of their current deals, so bolstering in that department is certainly a good idea for Arteta, considering the north London club’s title winning ambitions.
