Pep gambles on Ederson
BRAZILIAN TO REPLACE BRAVO... AND HART
IT IS a measure of the progress of Ederson Moraes that the man who will soon become the world’s most expensive goalkeeper only made his debut for Benfica 15 months ago. Ederson is expected to complete a £33million move to Manchester City in the next 24 hours, narrowly surpassing the £32.6m it cost Juventus to sign Gianluigi Buffon from Parma in 2001.
Yet the 23-year- old Brazilian was an unproven No 2 to compatriot Julio Cesar until March last year, when he was thrust into the Lisbon derby against Benfica’s title rivals Sporting.
Ederson has since become one of the most highly rated young goalkeepers in world football, receiving widespread acclaim for his performances in the Champions League with the Portuguese club. Signing the Brazilian so soon after confirming Bernardo Silva’s £43m move from Monaco represents a statement of intent by Pep Guardiola.
The City boss has wasted no time in reacting to the first barren season of his coaching career following a meeting with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak in Abu Dhabi last week. Money will clearly be no object as Guardiola looks to sign up to six players to complete a £200m overhaul of the squad that he knew was needed when he took over last summer. A goalkeeper was a priority and Ederson has been identified as the man who meets Guardiola’s requirements.
Still, signing a relatively inexperienced goalkeeper from Portugal for such a big transfer fee could be considered a gamble for the City boss after his decision to replace Joe Hart with Claudio Bravo backfired.ckfired. The Chile international has strugruggled to adapt to English football all and the same challenge noww awaits the prodigious Ederson.
Even some of the Premier League’s best foreign goalkeepers have taken time to settle, and Bravo is proof that success abroad does not always s translate to the Premier League. e.
The 34-year-old could yet be sold after just a year at the Etihad,tihad, although it is more likely that he willi serve as Ederson’s No 2 following the departure of Willy Caballero.
Hart, meanwhile, confirmed yesterday that he is leaving Torino after a season on loan at the Italian club.
The situation facing the England goalkeeper is much the same as last summer when Guardiola made it clear that he had little future at City. Hart’s representatives are monitoring the situation with David de Gea and Thibaut Courtois at Manchester United and Chelsea respectively, and would ideally like to place him at a club in the top eight. But the chances of Hart returning to City beyond the prospect of a brief reunion are slim indeed as Ederson edges closer to becoming the club’s new No 1. It would complete an astonishing rise since he made his debut for Benfica in that 1-0 victory over Sporting Lisbon only last year. Nine more wins followedfol in a row as Benfica won theth first of two League and Cup doublesd with him in goal. After beating Vitoria de GuimaraesG in the Portuguese CupC final on Sunday, Ederson confirmedco that it was likely to be his last game for a club he first joinedjoine at the age of 16. GuardiolaGuar has got the man he wanted,ated aassweeper keeper in the mould of his former Bayern Munich No 1 Manuel Neuer. He is an excellent shot-stopper and is comfortable with the ball at his feet. No one can accuse Guardiola of standing still. He is determined to take City to the next level as quickly as possible after the disappointment of this season. In Ederson Moraes, he has chosen a young man who is used to making rapid progress.