Manchester United may not get the chance to sign Atalanta midfielder Ederson this summer, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Brazilian has been tipped as a potential replacement for Casemiro, along with Wolves’ Joao Gomes but, when asked about the club’s midfield targets on the United Stand YouTube channel, Romano said:

“Ederson is a quite similar situation [to Joao Gomes] but I think for Ederson, it’s going to be really tough to negotiate with Atalanta because probably there is already the Dutch midfielder [Teun] Koopmeiners leaving the club so it is not going to be easy to go there and sign both players in the same summer.”

Koopmeiners has spoken about his desire to leave Atalanta this week and there is a feeling that the Netherlands international will get his wish. As Romano mentions, that will have consequences for Ederson’s future as well.

United have competition for the Atalanta midfielder

Reports in the Brazilian media at the end of January suggested that United, Newcastle, Liverpool, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain had all made enquiries about Ederson‘s availability.

It was subsequently claimed that Atalanta would not consider bids below €40m (£34m) for the player, but Romano’s remarks may suggest the player will be taken off the market altogether.

Why are United considering replacements for Casemiro?

The 32-year-old is United’s highest earner, taking home £350,000 a week, and his injury record during his second season at Old Trafford has been very poor.

INEOS and their new recruitment team may feel that it is not worth keeping Casemiro around, especially if they can offload him to a club in Saudi Arabia.

There are Financial Fair Play regulations to take into consideration. With Casemiro’s contract off the books, it could free up funds and resources to bring in more signings during the summer transfer window.