Ederson da Silva has just been designated as Man United's first signing this summer. The Brazilian midfielder is preparing to go to Old Trafford to sign a long-term contract and replace his senior Casemiro. Before coming to Man United, Ederson was not called up to the Brazilian national team by Carlo Ancelotti to participate in the 2026 World Cup. Therefore, his joining the "Red Devils" will be very quick.
Last summer, Man United was caught up in rumors that it would recruit a series of midfielders in the central area such as Carlos Baleba (Brighton), Sandro Onali (Newcastle), Morten Hjulmand (Sporting), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace), Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest) or Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart). However, as revealed by Opta, the name Ederson has been on the radar of the "Red Devils" since a few seasons ago.
In Serie A, Ederson is described by the phrase "tuttocampista". This is a concept to refer to a perfect player, with countless strengths and can adapt to many different types of tactics. The concept of "box-to-box" may also be true when applied to the 26-year-old star when he plays wide in midfield and can participate in all kinds of tactics.
According to Opta's description, Ederson da Silva has the ability to press the opponent, recover the ball neatly and initiate attacks. In addition, this midfielder's long-range shooting skills are not bad, besides that is the ability to penetrate the opponent's penalty area to directly score goals. Although playing in the center position, Ederson's ability to score 5-7 goals per season is within reach for the Brazilian star.
In terms of skills, Ederson is somewhat more diverse than Casemiro. In this midfielder's playing style, fitness is the highlight when he can play the full 90 minutes but is not at all weak in one-on-one duels. Ederson is likened to a "monster" in Atalanta's midfield in Serie A, making many players wary of collisions.
Ederson's talent development process in Serie A is divided into 2 phases. Under captain Gianpiero Gasperini, he teamed up with Marten de Roon and Mario Pasalic to become a very dangerous midfield trio. All 3 stars have similarities and complement each other very well, both in attack and defense.
In the past season, under the leadership of Ivan Juric and then Raffaele Palladino, Ederson reappeared with a different image. He tends to attack more and shares less frequency of playing on the field for defensive tasks. Attack stats have improved a lot, while defensive stats have decreased significantly. Under Gasperini, Ederson was a sweeper of the entire midfield while currently, he is a good attacking star but his defense is only at an average level.
One of Ederson's weakest points in the past season was his poor finishing ability, leading to wasting many opportunities. The rate of converting chances into goals, especially long shots from outside the penalty area, is not high. With stable dribbling skills and easy to win duels, creating opportunities from outside the penalty area is not difficult for Ederson. However, this midfielder is forced to improve his finishing skills.
Arriving at Salernitana in January 2022 from Corinthians for only a few million Euros, Ederson made a great contribution to the team's relegation campaign. After that, he moved to Atalanta in 2023 for 20 million Euros. After 3 years playing football at Bergamo, Ederson is now valued at about 40 million Euros. This is a reasonable number for the current spending view of Man United owners. It also reflects the progress in the level of the Brazilian star.
The question now is whether Ederson can adapt to the Premier League or not? To play in the Premier League, a player must have a very good physical foundation. Ederson is in the peak of his career and is eager to try his hand at Old Trafford. Not only does he have a good physical foundation, Ederson's performance is also stable with few injuries. He is expected to become a new long-lasting tree in Man United's midfield, thereby sharing the burden with Bruno Fernandes.
In addition to his playing skills on the field, Ederson is also highly appreciated for his harmony with his teammates in the dressing room. This midfielder always creates a cheerful atmosphere, avoids conflicts and always adheres to internal discipline. This is also a very important factor when Man United recruits, avoiding scandals in the dressing room like many years ago.
