2025 is likely to be a year of big transition at Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s side are currently sixth in the Premier League, despite back-to-back victories over Leicester and then West Ham, with the manager himself claiming his side are “at risk” of missing out on Champions League qualification.
Given that many of the Citizens’ most high-profile players, Kyle Walker, John Stones, İlkay Gündoğan, Mateo Kovačić, Bernardo Silva and, most notably, Kevin De Bruyne, are now in their 30s, the squad could be set to undergo and enormous overhaul.
Well, having actually made £126m profit in the transfer market last summer, thanks to the sales of Julián Álvarez (£81.5m), João Cancelo (£21m), Liam Delap (£20m) and Taylor Harwood-Bellis (£20m), the Sky Blues should have scope to spend big in 2025.
A second Éderson potentially on his way to Man City
Reports from Spain back in December claimed that Manchester have ‘made contact’ with Atalanta in their pursuit of midfielder Éderson. However, this week, Fabrizio Romano revealed to GIVEMESPORT, that “it’s very difficult to sign Ederson [moving] in January with a fee of over €50m (£42m) required to prise him away in the summer.
Further reports from Italy have noted that Real Madrid, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus are also interested in his services, so Man City could find themselves in something of a bidding war.
So who is Éderson, and why is he so sought after?
Why Ederson would be a good signing for Manchester City
The 25-year-old bounced around a few Brazilian clubs, including Cruzeiro, Corinthians and Fortaleza, before moving to Serie A side Salernitana in January 2022, although he was only with I Granata for six months, because Atalanta quickly recognised his talents, signing him for €15m the following summer.
The midfielder has made 115 appearances for la Dea, a key figure as Gian Piero Gasperini’s side won last season’s Europa League, while I Nerazzurri are currently second in the Serie A table, seeking to win their first-ever Scudetto.
Gasperini himself stated that Éderson is “not just a midfielder; he’s the heartbeat of our system”, underlining his importance, while data analyst Ben Mattinson on Twitter added he is a “high-energy midfielder”.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
Interesting comparisons have previously been made suggesting that Éderson is a bit like prime-Yaya Touré, adding the Brazilian “actually shows better ball recovery skills”, so let’s see how the duo compare.
Well, the first thing to note is that they’re both physical players. Indeed, The Athletic’s Alex Barker outlined that Éderson’s three best qualities are his “strong aerial win rate”, his “great reading of the game” and his “ability to cover large distances quickly”. That certainly sounds a bit like Yaya, notably the last bit.
Getty Images
That being said, what do the numbers indicate?
Appearances
116
129
Minutes
8.549
10,901
Goals
10
46
Assists
3
19
Tackles per game
1.68
0.90
Fouls
125
146
Touches per game
48
66
Passes per game
39.2
57.66
Shots per game
1.01
1.72
As the table outlines, Éderson and what Touré became in his later years are stylistically quite different. After starting as a defensive midfielder, Touré ended his Man City career further forward so perhaps Pep could mould the Brazilian in a similar way here?
As noted by Barney Ronay of the Guardian, who calls him the most “intelligent and adaptable Premier League” player ever, the Ivorian played centre-back for Barcelona in a Champions League final, before transforming into a “goal-pylon stampede-machine” just three years later.
Josh Fordham of talkSPORT adds that Touré is amongst the “best midfielders in Premier League” history, so we’re certainly holding Éderson to a high standard, but he exceeds the Man City legend for tackles during the chosen time-frames and certainly has the attributes to star in the Citizens’ midfield in the future, as Touré did in the past.
Man City could sign Alvarez replacement who's one of the best in the world
Manchester City have made a move in an attempt to sign Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush, who’s currently the Bundesliga’s second-top scorer.
ByBen GrayJan 6, 2025
