Manchester City to intensify transfer pursuit of £50 million Ederson replacement | OneFootball

Ederson could be heading towards the exit door at the Etihad Stadium as Manchester City intensify their pursuit of a possible top-level replacement for the Brazilian.

The 31-year-old has been arguably one of Pep Guardiola’s most-important players throughout the course of the Catalan’s nine-season stay at Manchester City so far, with the goalkeeper revolutionising the way his position is viewed in English football.

As Guardiola went in search of a shot-stopper who was insistent on playing the ball out with his feet and acting more as a sweeper and central defender at times, a number of options were exhausted including the likes of Claudio Bravo and Willy Caballero in 2016 and 2017.

That came before Ederson was brought in from Benfica and hit the ground running with his exceptional eye for a pass and his truly unique passing range that could deliver an assist from inside his own penalty area and over the top of opposition defences to City’s attackers.

But as a series of fitness and injury problems begin to hamper Ederson’s ability to remain available for the duration of an intense season, there is now a belief that transfer interest for the Manchester City goalkeeper could allow for a change of number one this summer.

According to the information of The Mirror’s Simon Mullock, Etihad Stadium officials are now ready to end their connection with their long-standing mainstay goalkeeper, and turn to Portugal as they step up interest in FC Porto’s Diogo Costa this summer.

It is claimed that while the 25-year-old has a £63 million release clause in his current contract, Manchester City officials believe a fee in the region of £50 million could be enough to get a deal across the line.

Perhaps importantly when it comes to luring the player to the Etihad Stadium, it is pointed out that incoming director of football Hugo Viana has a strong relationship with Diogo Costa’s super-agent, Jorge Mendes.

Elsewhere, the report points out that nearby rivals Manchester United are also ‘big admirers’ of the Portugal number one, but simply do not have the finances available to them in order to trigger the player’s buy-out clause or challenge the Etihad Stadium for his signature.

For now it remains to be seen which clubs could come in to explore a potential deal for Ederson at Manchester City, after the club stood firm on a price tag valuation last summer amid interest from Saudi Arabia.

The line of reporting at the time was that the Premier League champions felt as though their long-standing number one choice goalkeeper commanded a transfer fee of around £50 million, although clubs in the Middle-East refused to exceed £30 million in proposals.

As such, Ederson remained at the club for another season and has previously spoken about the conversations he held with his manager Pep Guardiola over his future at Manchester City after an uncertain summer.

Speaking last August, Ederson said, “He expressed what he wants, the decision he wants, asked me to think carefully, the best decision for me and my family, and I decided. I guess this chat was fundamental to my decision to stay.”