Ederson is not done with Manchester United’s doctors yet. The Atalanta midfielder went through the first round of medical testing on Thursday, and there’s another session scheduled for Friday before the club can sign off on the deal.
The transfer was agreed last month at a base fee of €40.5 million with another €4.5 million in add-ons, but it’s all contingent on him passing the physical. That became a question mark when the initial round of checks didn’t clear him immediately.
Why the delay in finishing his medical?
Ederson was at the World Cup with Brazil through the summer. Carlo Ancelotti had him in the squad, so United’s medical staff did some preliminary checks while he was with the national team camp in the United States. That’s standard enough for a player at a major tournament, but the problem is those initial tests flagged something that required a closer look.
Doctors requested follow-up testing, which is why he’s going through this week’s exam schedule instead of having everything wrapped up before the World Cup even started. The club and Atalanta are both operating with a deadline of July 10 for a final decision, according to reports from Sky Sport Italia and Fabrizio Romano.
Atalanta isn’t panicking yet. Their thinking, per sources close to the situation, is that if there was anything genuinely wrong, Brazil’s medical staff would have sent him home from the World Cup camp. He played through the tournament without issue, which suggests whatever showed up on the initial scans is manageable.
The stakes for both sides
United has been rebuilding its midfield after a brutal season, and Ederson was seen as a key piece. He’s 25, physical, comfortable carrying the ball forward — the kind of profile the club has been missing since Casemiro’s form fell off a cliff. Losing this deal over a medical hang-up would force them back into a thin market.
Atalanta, meanwhile, has already budgeted around the sale. They’ve got replacements scouted and would prefer to move forward without the uncertainty dragging into August.
Friday’s tests will tell the story. If he passes, the deal goes through as planned. If not, both sides have some hard conversations coming.
Leave a Comment