Manchester United finished the season with a 3-0 win over Brighton on Sunday and third place in the Premier League, then moved quickly into the market as Michael Carrick prepared for his first transfer window as manager. The club are now reported to have struck a complete verbal agreement with Atalanta midfielder Ederson on a potential five-year contract.
Discussions between United and Atalanta are still ongoing, and the suggested fee for the 26-year-old Brazilian defensive midfielder is £43million. If the move goes through, Ederson would be one of the first pieces in Carrick’s reshaping of a midfield that is already set for change. United are aware Casemiro is expected to leave when his contract expires, while Manuel Ugarte’s future remains in doubt.
The push for Ederson comes before the transfer window opens, with talkSPORT reporting that United are moving swiftly to land a midfield player early. They are also pursuing another target for Carrick in Elliot Anderson, a 23-year-old who has been identified as an expensive but perfect option. Any deal for Anderson would be a far bigger stretch, with the expected fee approaching £100m.
That urgency reflects how much midfield turnover United may face. Casemiro’s exit would remove experience, and uncertainty around Ugarte leaves the club short of certainty in the centre of the pitch. Ederson, by contrast, is being lined up as a possible first signing of the summer, a move that would set the tone for a manager now building his own squad rather than inheriting one.
The scale of United’s plans was underlined by Marco Materazzi’s praise for Scott McTominay, who left the club for Napoli for £26m in 2024. McTominay has since won the Serie A title last season and the Super Cup this season, and Materazzi said: “I love Scott McTominay.” He added: “When he established himself as a young player at United, I told my son he would become one of the best in the world.”
Materazzi went on: “And now he is.” He described McTominay as “an incredible box-to-box player” and said: “I still don’t understand how Manchester United could sell him for so little.” In his view, McTominay is worth £70m, not £26m, and he asked: “Is this one of the biggest transfer mistakes in history?” His answer was blunt: “I definitely think so.”
For United, the lesson is plain. They are trying to move fast because midfield mistakes, whether in buying or selling, have already shaped where they are now. The next one matters because Carrick’s first window could decide whether the club strengthens before the market gets more expensive, or spends the summer trying to catch up.
