Barcelona battle Man Utd for Atalanta star after Europa League heroics

Tom Weber

Updated: 24 May 2024 09:49 BST
4 min read

Joan Laporta, Barcelona, Sir Jim Ratcliffe — © IMAGO

Barcelona have joined the race to sign Atalanta star Ederson, according to Italian media.

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The Brazilian has been a sought-after commodity all season, but transfer interest in his services has now skyrocketed off the back of a truly stunning performance in the Europa League final for Atalanta.

While most of the headlines have understandably been about former Everton youngster Ademola Lookman given that he notched a spectacular hattrick against a hitherto invincible Bayer Leverkusen, Ederson has also been receiving some well-deserved praise.

Bayer 04's midfield has been one of the most dominant in all of Europe this season but the 24-year-old got the better of Granit Xhaka and Exequiel Palacios in Dublin and played an outsized role in Atalanta's historic triumph - the Italians' only previous major trophy had been the 1963 Coppa Italia.

Barca want Ederson

Previously linked with the likes of Man Utd, Liverpool and Newcastle, it is now being reported that Barcelona are also interested in Ederson after his European heroics. Calciomercato claims that the Blaugrana have already made contact with the midfielder.

Last summer, Juventus had apparently tried to sign Ederson and been quoted an asking price of €45 million to €50m and Atalanta are still demanding a similar fee now. This means that it will be incredibly difficult for Barcelona to strike a deal.

The Blaugrana are still strapped for cash and will need to make a major sale before they can think about splashing that kind of money on a player. Indeed, with Guido Rodriguez slated to join the club on a free transfer from Real Betis, it is doubtful that the Catalans would then go and spend a fortune on another midfielder.