Pep takes record punt on Ederson
REPORTS PEP GUARDIOLA will pray he has it right this time.
Less than a year after his controversial gamble to bring in Claudio Bravo and remove England No1 Joe Hart backfired spectacularly, the Manchester City manager is poised to smash the world record transfer fee for another goalkeeper.
His belief is that Ederson can not only play with his feet – a prerequisite for Guardiola in a keeper – but also do the fundamentals by saving shots, something that Bravo struggled to do last season. For a £34.9million fee you would hope so.
But just who is the Brazilian, 23, who is poised to overtake Gianluigi Buffon’s 16-year record as the world’s most expensive keeper?
Born in the suburbs of Sao Paulo, Ederson Santana de Moraes – to give him his full name – started in the youth academy of his home-city club.
After a year he was picked up at 16 by Benfica but failed to make an impact and dropped down to second tier club Ribeirao where he impressed enough in 30 appearances to prompt Rio Ave to take him back to Portugal’s top flight.
It was there that Benfica began to regret their decision. A string of fine displays for Rio Ave led to Ederson being capped by Brazil at Under-23 level before he returned to Benfica in 2015, initially as No 2 to his Brazilian compatriot Julio Cesar.
But when Cesar was ruled out for the last three months of the 2015-16 season, Ederson stepped up to the plate, helping
SPORT IN BRIEF
them win their final 10 league games to lift the domestic title for the 35th time. This season Ederson established himself as No1 at Benfica, helping them secure a league and cup double, conceding only 12 goals in the League season with 17 clean sheets. One eye-catching display against Borussia Dortmund drew praise from Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho and United goalkeeping legend Edwin van der Sar said: “Ederson has already shown in the Champions League his talent is undisputed. He is always focused and has an excellent reading of the game, even without the ball. “I think Ederson needs another kind of challenge to feel another kind of pressure. But the talent is all there, he only needs to prove it under other conditions. I have no doubt that with the qualities he has he can overcome anything.” At 6ft 2in he is taller than Bravo, can play off either foot and he is happy to receive back passes even under pressure. His distribution is excellent either with passes or throws. And although Guardiola likes his keepers to start moves from the back, Ederson brings a new weapon – his ability to smash a goal kick virtually the length of the pitch. Ederson’s arrival for such a huge fee suggests Bravo will become City’s No2 and it also closes the door on any hopes fans may have had that the popular Hart could return after his year’s Italian exile. Torino would like him to stay but they cannot afford him, while Hart is keen to protect his England place by returning to the Premier League. He said farewell to Torino fans following a 5-3 win over Saussolo in their final game by saying on Instagram: “Thank you Torino... I am so proud to have played for your special club. The way you have treated me and my family is something we will never forget. I will forever support Torino for the rest of my days. I have met so many special people and this has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. “I will come back to see you all one day so bye for now, enjoy an amazing summer.”