The size of the task facing Jason Wilcox and Co when it comes to replace the midfielder is huge. The Brazilian has enjoyed one of the best individual campaigns of his career, scoring nine times.

Yet, all good things must come to an end and United are now staring at something of a midfield rebuild this summer. Fortunately, they are ramping up plans to sign one or two replacements, one of whom could be Ederson at Atalanta.

Why Ederson is a good signing for Man United

Reports emerged a couple of weeks ago outlining the Brazilian's desire to move to England this summer, with United reportedly agreeing personal terms with the player.

Up until this weekend, however, talks between Atalanta and the Red Devils had not opened. Yet, confirming this week, Fabrizio Romano has outlined that club to club talks are now underway as they seek a resolution to Ederson's future.

The general vibe this summer is that United will look to sign one midfielder at great expense, perhaps Elliot Anderson or Sandro Tonali and then plug the gap further by landing someone of Ederson's calibre.

Sure, he's not Anderson, the Nottingham Forest sensation, but at the age of 26 he's a proven talent and one that could only cost around £40m. That's cheap as chips considering Anderson has been valued at north of £100m.

So, why Ederson? Well, he's one of the best and perhaps most underrated defensive midfielders in the whole of European football. Compared to positionally similar players in Europe's top five leagues this season, the Atalanta man ranks as high as the best 13% for defensive ground duels won per 90 minutes and among the top 22% for tackles and interceptions.

In short, the Serie A star provides the same level of combativeness as Casemiro, just with more energy. He's among the best 14% of midfielders on the continent for progressive carries per 90 with 1.57.

A huge boon to Michael Carrick would no doubt be the fact that he's not particularly raw. United are in need of replacing a hugely experienced character and while Ederson may not be from the same catalogue, he certainly knows his game more than someone like Carlos Baleba and Mateus Fernandes, two of the club's other midfield targets.

But, what if they have already secured a midfielder capable of staring ahead of all of those names in the future?

Man Utd have already signed their new Casemiro

United are set to spend a shedload on replacing Casemiro and improving their midfield ranks but work has already been done in recent years to future proof the central areas.

Of course, Kobbie Mainoo has become one of the best talents to emerge from Cobham in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, but in the summer of 2024, they welcomed youngster Sekou Kone to the ranks. He was just 18 years old at the time, moving from Guidars in his homeland of Mali.

Fast forward to late 2025 and United were making a similar move, this time to sign South American prospect Cristian Orozco for a bargain fee from Fortaleza in Colombia.

Orozco is yet to officially join the club but will reportedly link up with his teamamtes in the early stages of pre-season. At a time where the hierarchy are looking at the likes of Ederson and Anderson, this represents a really cost-effective way to bolster the middle of the park.

So, what's all he about? Crucially as Carrick goes about replacing one of the best players, the teenager has been described as not just a "midfield destroyer" by one prominent analyst and scout on X, but also as the "next Casemiro".

Why? The words of scout Antonio Mango certainly help here. "Orozco operates somewhat of a defensive minded midfielder but far more than that, he can play," Mango said.

Like Casemiro and Ederson, Orozco is a tidy player in possession and he's a fierce duel winner, winning 5.2 of them per match during the U17 CONMEBOL Championship in 2025, but what separates him from others in the game is his press resistancy and recovery pace. This is a player who has boundless energy, an attribute that United have actuallly missed from their current Brazilian.

Furthermore, he's a wise head on young shoulders. He's already captained his country at youth level, suggesting this is a young player who loves to take responsibility.

Sure, he's not the mega-money transfer fans are crying out for this represents a shrewd pieces of recruitment from those behind the scenes.