Casemiro will wave goodbye to Old Trafford on Sunday when Manchester United host Nottingham Forest, and the match now doubles as a marker for what comes next in midfield. The 34-year-old’s penultimate appearance for United arrives as the club’s transfer priority is expected to come into focus this weekend.
Ederson, the 26-year-old Atalanta midfielder, is on United’s radar and a fee of £40m is understood to be enough to sign him. The Brazilian has made 179 appearances for Atalanta since arriving from Salernitana in January 2022, and he has added five goal contributions in all competitions this season, including three goals and two assists.
For United, the timing matters. Casemiro has scored nine goals this season and remains a fan favourite despite not matching the trophy haul he enjoyed at Real Madrid, but the club is already being pushed toward the future as his departure approaches. Sunday’s game against Nottingham Forest is not the end, yet it is close enough to force the next question into the open: who replaces him?
That is where Ederson enters the frame. Lorenzo Bettoni described him as a similar type of midfielder to Casemiro and said he can be a replacement for him. Bettoni called Ederson a modern midfielder with quality, defensive skills and great positioning, adding that he is a complete machine, one of the best midfielders in Serie A over the last few years, and a player who can be found everywhere on his day. He said Ederson reads the game well, is tactically very good and is exactly the sort of player top clubs need in big matches because they can rely on him.
There are, though, reasons for caution. Ederson has no Premier League experience, and while that does not end the conversation, it does complicate it. United are looking at a player whose strengths are clear on the European stage, but the leap to England is still a real test. That is the friction in the move: a profile that fits the role, and a league jump that cannot be ignored.
Atalanta’s own situation also points toward change. The club are in a transitional year, sporting director Tony D’Amico is set to leave at the end of the campaign and plenty of changes are expected in the summer. In that setting, Ederson leaving is described as highly likely, which keeps United’s interest alive as the window nears.
Casemiro’s farewell on Sunday will not settle United’s midfield plan, but it will sharpen it. By the time the crowd leaves Old Trafford, the club’s next move should look less like a possibility and more like the decision it has been building toward all along.
