Manchester United continue to assess central midfield targets ahead of a crucial summer transfer window as the club prepares to return to the Champions League next season. Interest in box-to-box Atalanta enforcer Éderson is reported to be accelerating.
United will be in the market for at least two new midfielders, accounting for Casemiro’s imminent departure—the possibility Manuel Ugarte also goes—and a lack of cover in the center of the pitch.
Éderson could be significantly cheaper than certain options as he nears the final year of his contract with Atalanta, compared to others like Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali and Carlos Baleba, who could creep into nine-figure territory.
Sky Sports report that interest in $54 million (£40 million) rated Éderson has “stepped up” and the same is true of West Ham United’s Mateus Fernandes. The suggestion is that United want to be in a position where they can start making offers once preferred targets are finalized.
Although both Sky Sports and the Daily Mail now write that recent speculation about a transfer for Éderson already being agreed was premature, United’s chance of a deal has improved because Atlético Madrid have dropped interest in favor of João Gomes of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Éderson Complements Kobbie Mainoo Skillset
If Éderson arrives at Old Trafford, his exact role and status will depend on who else might come through the door. The 26-year-old only has an outside shot at going to the World Cup, although is named in Brazil’s preliminary squad, which could make it easier to arrange a transfer.
Chances are, he could join much sooner than someone like Anderson, who will be wrapped up in the World Cup with England. Fortunately for United from a logistics perspective, neither Tonali nor Baleba are going to the World Cup after Italy and Cameroon, respectively, failed to qualify.
If Kobbie Mainoo, unequivocally restored to the starting lineup by Michael Carrick—who now looks destined to become the new permanent manager—is the deep-lying playmaker, Éderson is a complementary match as an all-action ball winner in the Casemiro mould.
The Atalanta star appears built for the Premier League. “He has two main strengths,” Tiago Nunes, Éderson’s former manager at Corinthians, told Sky Sports in 2024. “Firstly, on the pitch, he has great physical strength, with the ability to play box-to-box, back and forth, sustaining the pace of the game. Secondly, he has a very strong mentality, with a very clear awareness of what he wants.”
Setting up alongside Mainoo, behind Bruno Fernandes in the No. 10 role, ought to provide the right kind of balance in the center of the pitch where United have occasionally lacked control in 2025–26.
$189 Million Midfield Plan
Manchester United’s tiered approach to midfield recruitment could see as many as three new signings, each from a different price bracket.
The aforementioned Mail report explains an ideal scenario of landing one $108 million (£80 million) target, one $54 million (£40 million) target and one $27 million (£20 million) target.
Anderson, Tonali, Baleba and Kees Smit are among the premium options. Éderson is in the middle tier, alongside Mateus Fernandes, Tyler Adams and Adam Scott. Names who fit the bill for the cheapest bracket could be the often linked Javi Guerra, or even ex-United midfielder James Garner.
READ THE LATEST MAN UTD NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FC
Add us as a preferred source on Google
