Manchester United are moving towards the final stages of their deal for Ederson, and Brazil have now handed them a lovely bit of timing.
The Atalanta midfielder is already close to Old Trafford. Now, before the transfer is even official, Carlo Ancelotti has given him a late World Cup call-up.
Some week for Ederson
ESPN Brazil’s SportsCenter just reported that Ederson has very advanced negotiations to join Manchester United next season. They even described him as almost an ex-Atalanta player.
Brazilian journalist Jorge Nicola then added more detail. He said Atalanta and Manchester United have scheduled a decisive meeting for Tuesday.
According to him, that meeting should settle the final details of the operation.
Nicola also spoke to André Cury, Ederson’s representative. Cury told him everything is already agreed in principle between the clubs.
Only small details remain. And those are expected to be sorted by Tuesday, when Ederson should become a Manchester United player.
The deal is worth €48m (£40.5m). That figure already includes bonuses, which Cury described as easily achievable.
There is also a nice detail in the background. SportsCenter said Casemiro recommended Ederson to Manchester United before leaving the club.
Brazil call arrives at perfect time
Ederson received his Brazil chance because Roma’s Wesley was cut from the World Cup squad.
The right-back suffered an adductor injury in his left thigh during Brazil’s friendly against Egypt. The feeling around the squad was already pessimistic on Saturday night.
Medical tests later confirmed the problem. That opened one final place in Ancelotti’s group.
However, the Brazil manager did not simply call another right-back. Instead, he chose Ederson. SportsCenter explained that Danilo and Ibañez are expected to cover that area for Brazil, despite neither being a natural right-back.
As a result, Ancelotti has gained one more midfield option. And the timing could hardly be better for Manchester United. Their incoming signing has suddenly received a major international endorsement before the ink is even dry.
Ederson beats the queue
Ederson also had to beat competition for the place. SportsCenter said he moved ahead of other names who had been considered, including Andrey Santos. The Chelsea midfielder had been mentioned as a possible World Cup option.
This was not a free space handed to Ederson. In Brazil, the story is being framed as him jumping the queue. The phrase used by SportsCenter was that he “he cut across the competition”.
That is a useful stamp of approval for United, especially before a €48m deal.
Momentum had been building
Ederson had already been called up by Ancelotti once before. He was included in the Italian’s first Brazil squad, although he did not play. Even so, SportsCenter stressed that he remained on the national team radar.
Nicola said Ederson and his staff believed he would go to the World Cup once Ancelotti took the Brazil job.
There was a reason for that confidence. According to Nicola, two of Ancelotti’s assistants live very close to Bergamo. They knew Ederson’s work at Atalanta well.
That explains why this call-up was late, rather than random. Ederson then had injuries which prevented him from being involved in later squads. Still, he never completely disappeared from the picture.
Now the chance has arrived at the last possible moment. He was in the countryside for a friend’s wedding when the call came. From there, he travelled on Sunday night to New York.
This morning, Ederson had already landed in the United States.
He will now join Brazil for his first World Cup. Manchester United are still waiting to make everything official. Yet, before that announcement, their new midfielder has already had quite the entrance.
