“Deal Almost Closed” – Journalist Claims That Man Utd Are About To Seal 1st Major Summer Signing

BACK David Tully May 22nd 2026 This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. Man Utd are close to snapping up Atalanta midfielder Ederson for €53m (£46m), according to SportItalia reporter Michele Criscitiello. Writing on his X account, the journalist claimed the deal is “almost closed”. He originally stated a figure of €50m (£43m) for the transfer fee before subsequently correcting himself: 48 mln più 5 di bonus. Per la precisione @tvdellosport — Michele Criscitiello (@MCriscitiello) May 22, 2026 Ederson is in the final year of his contract at Atalanta so that would be a sizeable sum to pay for the Brazilian if Criscitiello’s information is accurate. There was competition for the Man Utd target Atletico Madrid were said to have made a big effort to sign Ederson, having reportedly agreed personal terms with the player Arsenal have also been heavily linked with the 26-year-old, with respected journalist David Ornstein having mentioned the Gunners as potential suitors over the past month. However, it appears as if United are now the front-runners to secure his services. We shall have to wait and see if sources in the UK confirm this. Buy the brand new 2026/27 authentic Man Utd home shirt from Fanatics here Ederson is not the only midfielder on the club’s wishlist It is believed that the Red Devils have put aside around £150m to reinforce the middle of the park, so there would be scope for spending another £100m+ on one or two more additions in the same position. Ederson is named on our list of the club’s 6 likeliest midfield targets here, where we have ranked them based on their WhoScored league rating for the 2025/26 season. Approaches for other targets are expected to be made before the World Cup as Director of Football Jason Wilcox looks to get the club’s business out of the way early in the summer. Want more news on Man Utd? Add Man U News as a preferred source on Google David Tully David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for the Football News Network.