Manchester United have reached an agreement with Atalanta to sign midfielder Ederson as details of the deal emerge, as reported first by David Ornstein.

Man United have been focusing on strengthening their midfield ahead of the summer transfer window officially opening on June 15, with an agreement close on a move for the Brazilian for many days.

Now it looks set to go through in early July, but the 26-year-old won’t be the last arrival in the middle of the park, especially if Manuel Ugarte leaves with Casemiro.

If the Uruguayan does leave, then the Red Devils could look to bring in three senior midfielders, while 17-year-old Cristian Orozco will also join officially next month to further bolster the position.

United’s midfield rebuild is needed to supplement a rejuvenated Kobbie Mainoo, who became one of the first names on the team-sheet under Michael Carrick in the second half of the season, having seen his minutes limited under Ruben Amorim previously.

Mainoo had requested a January exit on loan, but Amorim was replaced by Carrick and he forged a formidable central midfield partnership with Casemiro.

Now, United are looking for their next strong pairing with the England international.

Ornstein: Man United Reach £38.8m Agreement With Atalanta

Posting on X on Tuesday night, David Ornstein confirmed that United have finally reached an agreement with Atalanta over the transfer of Ederson.

The price for the ‘monster’ Brazilian international will be €40.5m, plus €4.5m of potential bonuses, meaning the total deal is worth up to £38.8m.

Personal terms are already in place on a contract that will be four years, with the option to extend it by a further 12 months.

The deal might not be officially completed for another month however, with Ederson still needing to undergo a medical, but all parties do expect to seal the transfer in early July.

Which Other Midfielders are Man United Targeting?

Manchester United are still on the lookout for an elite replacement for Casemiro, with many big-money names linked with the club.

Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson is their number one target, according to GMS sources, although the England international has a hefty price tag and his preference is to join Manchester City if they firm up their interest in him.

Fabrizio Romano says that Real Madrid star Aurelien Tchouameni is the club’s ‘dream’ Casemiro successor, but again Los Blancos are currently keen to keep him at the Bernabeu despite his high-profile training ground bust-up with Federico Valverde.

Elsehwere, reports in Italy had suggested that United were close to an agreement for Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali, with Carrick instructing club chiefs to bring him to Old Trafford.

United are also keen on some low-price midfielders too, such as Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney and Southampton’s Shea Charles.

Lionel Messi‘s assessment of a young Ousmane Dembele re-emerged in 2025 after the French winger inspired Paris Saint-Germain to their first-ever Champions League title over Inter Milan. Those comments are now worth looking at again, after PSG’s back-to-back success in that same competition, with the Frenchman once again pivotal.

While not getting on the scoresheet vs Inter, the winger was in sensational form, setting up his teammates twice en route to a record-breaking 5-0 victory. He then scored a penalty vs Arsenal, as PSG drew with the Gunners in normal time before winning the shoot-out.

As a result of the European triumph, Dembele has now made himself a frontrunner to win this year’s Ballon d’Or, having been awarded the prize in 2025. While it has taken some time, it is safe to say that the forward has lived up to the potential his teenage self had, which makes Messi’s comments back when he first joined Barcelona all the more interesting.

Messi’s Praise of Dembele Vindicated

The Argentine’s prediction may end up being spot on

After impressing at both Stade Rennais and Borussia Dortmund, a then 20-year-old Dembele would make the move to Camp Nou in a monstrous £135.5 million deal in 2017. By 2018, things had already shown signs that they weren’t exactly going to plan, but as per talkSPORT, Messi continued to back the budding star, saying:

Though the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s proclamation appears to have come true, it never did at Barcelona. Recurring injuries and inconsistent form meant that Dembele never reached the heights hoped of him, scoring just 40 times in 185 appearances.

He moved to PSG in 2023, however, and under Luis Enrique, his fortunes have changed dramatically. As a result of a brilliant couple of seasons, he could now follow in Messi’s footsteps by becoming a rare player to lift the Ballon d’Or more than once (just 10 have managed that so far). He was effectively the replacement for Messi at the Stade de Princes, and he has more than filled the void left by the magical Argentine.

All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt – accurate as of 02/06/2026.

Tottenham are planning a major overhaul of their playing squad this summer following back-to-back 17th-place finishes in the Premier League.

Spurs avoided relegation to the Championship on the final day of the season this year, beating Everton 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to stave off dropping down to playing second tier football for the first time since 1978.

Roberto De Zerbi was the saviour – Spurs’ third head coach of the season doing the one thing that was asked of him when he arrived at the club at the end of March – rescuing them from the drop.

Now, the Italian will want to put his stamp on the squad and ensure the 2025/26 season never happens again. Owners the Lewis Family have already pledged investment in the playing squad, and it will need to be significant if De Zerbi’s comments after the end of the season are anything to go by.

The Spurs boss said that he had “10, 11, 12 players good enough to stay”. With a 25-man squad available for the Premier League, that suggests he might need at least 13 new players to come in, although he may not have been counting long-term injured stars or those out on loan in his assessment of the squad he inherited.

Tottenham have already agreed deals to sign defenders Andy Robertson from Liverpool and Marcos Senesi from Bournemouth, with the pari free agents after their contracts at Liverpool and Bournemouth respectively came to an end.

But where else does De Zerbi need to strengthen?

Goalkeeper and defender deals

It looks like Guglielmo Vicario will depart the club, with Inter Milan his most likely destination this summer. Club captain Cristian Romero is also expected to leave, while Spurs could also look to cash in on Radu Dragusin, who does not seem to fit under De Zerbi – nor any other manager truth be told.

Highly-rated centre-back Luka Vuskovic could be given a chance, but the likelihood is he will get another season on loan under his belt after signing a new contract with the club. Ben Davies looks set to stay and sign a new deal too.

A new No.1 goalkeeper, or another keeper to challenge the reinvigorated Antonin Kinsky is a must this summer. The likes of Bart Verbruggen, Anatoliy Trubin and Lucas Chevalier have all been linked.

With Robertson and Senesi coming in, there’s probably space for one more centre-back. Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton would be the obvious – and best – choice, having played under De Zerbi before.

Robertson will be competition for Destiny Udogie at left-back, with Pedro Porro and Djed Spence the right-back options.

Midfield moving pieces at Tottenham

Joao Palhinha will return to Bayern Munich following the end of his loan spell, but De Zerbi has already admitted that he “100%” wants to sign him permanently. Palhinha also wants to return, with his preference on coming back to Spurs before heading to Sporting CP, who also want him.

With Conor Gallagher already signed in January and Rodrigo Bentancur showing his importance to the team when he returned from injury, there may not be too many more deals to be done in the two positions in front of the defence in De Zerbi’s famous 4-2-3-1 formation.

Youngsters Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall will surely be trusted more following a pre-season with the Italian.

One other player from Brighton has been linked – Carlos Baleba. He is likely to cost upwards of £80million, but is another who knows how to play in De Zerbi’s system and would be an upgrade on what Spurs already have.

Moving into the forward positions

De Zerbi has a plethora of options in the trio of positions behind the main striker in his new squad, although he is waiting on many of them to be fit.

Xavi Simons will probably be out until 2027, with Wilson Odobert not back until October at the earliest. Dejan Kulusevski was not see all season, but it is hoped he will return for the start of the season. Mohammed Kudus suffered a setback in his recovery, but he should be back for the start of the season too.

De Zerbi was able to call upon James Maddison in the final few weeks of the campaign, coming off the bench to make good cameo appearances when Spurs needed it most.

With Mathys Tel and the returning Mikey Moore to add to the mix, there is strength in depth in the positions in and around the main striker – particularly if they sign Savinho from Manchester City – but it is perhaps that No.9 that Tottenham need to upgrade the most.

Dominic Solanke has been another who has suffered with injuries this season and has not been able to get into any sort of rhythm, while Richarlison was Spurs’ top scorer, but never really got into proper goalscoring form.

Both could leave, both could stay, but it is imperative that De Zerbi signs at least one, maybe two new frontmen this summer.