Let me take the penalties!
EDERSON is ready to put Pep Guardiola’s faith in his footwork to the ultimate test by requesting penalty duty for City.
The Brazilian international has ended his manager’s long search for a sweeper-keeper following his £35m move from Benfica in the summer.
He has enjoyed an outstanding start to his career at the Etihad, in stark contrast to Claudio Bravo’s desperate first season at the club.
Ederson is Guardiola’s idea of the modern goalkeeper, being able to sweep up danger outside his box and carry the ball out of defence.
The 24-year-old claims he is so confident with his feet that he is ready take spot kicks for City.
“If there is a chance to ever take a penalty I am going to ask the manager and I would do it!” he said. “I think modern football has evolved a lot. Goalkeepers do several things during the game.
“They help in the build-up. That is very important, to play with your feet, it is very important to know how to read the game and, obviously, save balls and also handle the pressure when it comes to the crunch time. I help a lot in the build-up and the long balls as well.
“But mainly I would say a goalkeeper must be a calm person to cope with the pressure to handle when you make a mistake. I think that’s really important and it helps you a lot to develop your skills.”
Guardiola was roundly criticised for his controversial decision to drop Joe Hart and replace the England international with Bravo when taking over at City last year.
And Chilean keeper Bravo’s struggles to cope with English football raised further question marks about the wisdom of that move.
But in Ederson, Guardiola appears to have finally found a keeper who can meet his exacting demands as a ball-playing No.1.
“I was born with those skills, being able to play with my feet,” added Ederson in an interview with NBC. “When I started playing as a player I was playing as a defender or a full-back.
“That helped me with my adaptation to play with my feet. Through time I have developed those skills and even now I keep training with my feet because it is very important. “In the past maybe I didn’t spend so much time training with the players that were in front of me. Now we are more involved and maybe that is why I can now show my qualities with the football.” Ederson has been just as pivotal to City’s unbeaten start as Guardiola’s embarrassment of riches up front. He believes the Premier League leaders could even challenge for a treble this season. “I think City has built a really great team, a really young team both for the present and the future,” he said. “I think we are ready to fight for everything. “The Premier League, the cups, the Champions League. If we keep doing the good work we are doing, we will have a lot of chances to win one, two or three trophies. “We must keep working hard and focus on the targets.”