City get £33m Eds up

MANCHESTER CITY are close to making Ederson Moraes the most expensive goalkeeper since Juventus signed Italy legend Gianluigi Buffon.

Benfica’s Brazilian shot-stopper, 23, has emerged as City’s No.1 target for a position which has been a problem all season for Blues boss Pep Guardiola.

He controversially axed England’s Joe Hart, now on loan at Torino, and dropped his £14.5million replacement from Barcelona – Claudio Bravo.

Former back-up keeper Willy Caballero, 35, is currently Guardiola’s first choice but the Argentine is out of contract in the summer.

City have assessed a number of young keepers including AC Milan starlet Gigio Donnarumma, 18, and Sunderland’s Jordan Pickford, 23.

Donnarumma is earmarked to succeed PAUL HETHERINGTON equal the veteran’s achievements and longevity.

The minimum fee, depending on the euro-to-pound exchange rate at the time, would be £30m.

The world-record fee for Buffon has always been regarded as being £32.6m.

Now 39, he recently made his 1,000th senior appearance in Italy’s match against Albania.

And appropriately, the Godfather of all goalkeepers kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win away in Tirana.

Ederson (right) is under contract in Lisbon for another three years but his buyout clause will be the deal-breaker which looks increasingly likely to take him to The Etihad in the summer.