Manchester United are close to signing Karl Darlow after his exit from Leeds, with the goalkeeper now emerging as the latest name in a summer window that has already moved fast. The deal is not the biggest one United are working on, but it is the one that has sharpened the focus around a position that can change quickly with one signing.
Darlow's link to United comes as the club continue to juggle several transfer tracks at once. United have already agreed a £35million deal with Atalanta for Ederson, and the Manchester Evening News understands they do not regard that move as dead despite reports on Friday evening suggesting otherwise. That matters because United's business is being shaped by more than one moving part, and the goalkeeper picture has become part of the same wider push.
The timing is what has pushed Darlow into view now. United are looking to strengthen in midfield too, and they have already agreed personal terms with Ederson while striking a deal with Atalanta worth up to £38million in early June. Fabrizio Romano said an underlying knee issue came up after a medical examination in the UK, and that is what prompted fresh claims that the move had collapsed. But the latest line from the Manchester Evening News is that United still do not see it that way.
That leaves a clear contradiction at the heart of the day’s reporting. Multiple reports on Friday evening said Ederson would not be heading to Old Trafford, yet United are still being linked with Darlow and are treating the Ederson situation as alive. For a club in the middle of active summer business, that combination says as much about how quickly talks can shift as it does about any one player.
United have also been tied to Andrey Santos from Chelsea in a deal worth £48million plus £2million in add-ons, while they decided against spending lavish sums on Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali and Elliot Anderson. Aurelien Tchouameni is also said to be of interest, Bournemouth have valued Alex Scott at £80million, and Crysencio Summerville has been associated with a possible £50m move. In the same window, Andre Onana has returned to Trabzonspor on another season-long loan, Casemiro has gone after his contract expired, and Senne Lammens made his World Cup debut for Belgium before coming on for the injured Courtois.
For now, the open question is not whether United are active. It is whether Darlow is being lined up as a straightforward addition, or whether he is part of a goalkeeper reshuffle that is still being negotiated behind the scenes.
