According to reports from Italy, Liverpool are interested in a potential move for Ederson – but it’s not the Manchester City goalkeeper who’s on the radar at Anfield.
Gazzetta dello Sport have claimed that the Reds have the Atalanta midfielder of the same name in their sights, although it might be a tall order to convince the Serie A club to part with the 24-year-old.
The Bergamo outfit may be reluctant to lose both him and Teun Koopmeiners, in whom Juventus have a strong interest, while there’s a feeling that even a €40m (£34.3m) offer might be insufficient ‘unless significant compensations and bonuses are included’. It’s also noted that the Nerazzurri are ‘not very easy to deal with’ in the transfer market.
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Ederson has been a prominent figure in Atalanta’s line-up this season, with six goals in 27 appearances from central midfield (Transfermarkt).
FBref notes him as being stylistically similar to Conor Gallagher, with the Brazilian ranking among the top 5% of positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year for blocks per game, the top 16% for interceptions and the top 23% for tackles.
His numbers are reasonably good without being jaw-droppingly brilliant, and there are other positions in Jurgen Klopp’s squad which are likelier to garner immediate attention than the midfield.
Also, if Atalanta are notoriously difficult negotiators, and if they sell Koopmeiners to Juventus, it’s hard to see them cashing in on Ederson too.
The Man City goalkeeper’s namesake doesn’t seem likely to join him in the Premier League imminently, and for now we’d take these reports with a pinch of salt, but it could be interesting to see if the initial rumours gather momentum between now and the end of the January transfer window.