Ederson agrees Manchester United move as Carrick lands his first signing

Manchester United have their man in midfield. The club have agreed a deal with Atalanta for Ederson, the Brazil international, in a move worth around 38 million pounds that will make him the first signing of Michael Carrick’s reign at Old Trafford.

This is the Ederson who plays in the middle of the park, not the goalkeeper of the same name, and United see him as the answer to a problem that has nagged at them for several seasons. The structure of the deal is reported at 34 million pounds up front with a further 3.8 million in add-ons, and the 26-year-old is set to sign a four-year contract with the option of a further year.

Carrick’s first piece of business

The timing matters. Carrick was handed the job permanently last month after a caretaker spell that began in January, when Ruben Amorim was dismissed. He won 11 of his 16 games in interim charge and steered United back into the Champions League, enough to convince the board to hand him a contract running to 2028. Ederson is the first name he has pushed for with the full backing of a permanent appointment behind him.

The deal is not quite over the line. Ederson still has to complete his medical, and because the transfer window does not open until 15 June, the move is not expected to be made official until early July. Clubs can agree terms before the window opens; they just cannot register the player until it does.

What United are getting

Ederson made his name as the engine of the Atalanta side that beat Bayer Leverkusen to win the Europa League in 2024, and the appeal is obvious. He is busy without the ball and tidy with it, equally at home screening the defence or pushing into a box-to-box role. That flexibility is exactly what Carrick needs if he is going to settle on a midfield shape rather than rotate through one every few weeks.

There is a wider point here too. United have spent recent summers chasing forwards and full-backs while the middle of the pitch went unaddressed, and it has cost them control of too many matches. Signing a midfielder first, before the striker hunt that still looms, reads like a manager setting his priorities rather than reacting to the loudest headline.

Whether one signing fixes a midfield is another question, and United have been here before with players who looked the part on arrival and faded. But as a statement of how Carrick wants his team to play, this is a sensible place to start.

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