Manchester United
Man United Weigh Up Éderson as Atalanta Contract Creates Value Opportunity
Man Utd monitor Éderson as Atalanta’s contract situation could make the midfielder affordable. This.
Manchester United are exploring midfield options ahead of next season and Éderson of Atalanta has emerged as an opportunistic target. United have compiled a seven-strong shortlist of midfield options with a view to signing at least one by the end of the summer transfer window, and Éderson is being considered separately because of his contract situation in Bergamo.
Atalanta previously valued the 26-year-old Brazilian at around €75 million but his deal runs until 2027 and the club does not appear set on renewing it. That combination has opened the possibility that he could be sold in 2026 for less than half his earlier valuation.
Representative André Cury has promoted a move to Barcelona, noting his own contacts at the club and his role in earlier transfers. He said to Cadena SER: “It’s an opportunity because his contract is expiring. Atalanta hasn’t wanted to sell him despite receiving very high offers. I think they’ll complete the transfer in this winter or summer window.”
Cury added context on Atalanta’s previous demands and how they might change as the contract nears its end. “[Atalanta were asking for] a lot of money, between €60 million and €75 million. He’s close to the end of his contract, they could reduce his price by half, to between €30 million and €40 million, but he’s a spectacular player with some of the best stats in Europe for his position.”
Éderson moved to Europe in 2022 with Salernitana before being signed by Atalanta months later. He contributed to Atalanta’s Europa League success in 2023–24 and has been part of sides that consistently finished in Serie A’s top five.
Former Corinthians manager Tiago Nunes offered a profile of Éderson’s game to Sky Sports in 2024, highlighting his physical and mental attributes. “He has two main strengths,” Nunes said. “Firstly, on the pitch, he has great physical strength, with the ability to play box-to-box, back and forth, sustaining the pace of the game. Secondly, he has a very strong mentality, with a very clear awareness of what he wants.”
Nunes added: “I see him playing as a box-to-box player, a midfielder who isn’t really someone to build the game but more of a player who can break through lines, get into the final third, progress up the field. I see him more as a midfielder with the freedom to get forward.
“I think he has the characteristics to play a more purposeful game or a transition game. He has the ability to link up and find the best interpretation of space in a shorter game in short spaces, but he also has the physical ability for a high-speed transition game. ]”
Bournemouth
VAR and Referee Rulings Spark Anger After Controversial United Decisions
VAR and referee decisions left Manchester United furious after one penalty was given and one denied.
Manchester United were left frustrated by a pair of referee decisions that shaped a match swing and produced heated reaction from the visiting camp.
Bruno Fernandes had put United ahead from the spot after a foul on Matheus Cunha. Minutes later Amad Diallo went down under contact from Adrien Truffert and the referee, Stuart Attwell, declined to award a second penalty. Video assistant referee Craig Pawson backed the on-field call and said that “the contact was not sufficient for a foul.” Less than 30 seconds after play continued, Ryan Christie levelled for Bournemouth.
Tempers rose again when Harry Maguire was penalized for a shove on Evanilson. The contact on Maguire’s part was judged differently from the earlier incident and the Premier League described that particular contact as a “holding offense.” VAR again supported the match official, but the outcome for Maguire was more severe. He received a straight red card and the league clarified that he had been guilty of denying a goal scoring opportunity (DOGSO). As he was deemed to have made “no attempt to challenge for the ball,” the red card stood in accordance with Law 12.
Michael Carrick expressed his disbelief after full time. “We should have had another penalty. Obviously, if you get one, you must get the other,” he said. “It’s pretty much identical for me, two-hand grab. Either way, he’s got one wrong, but to give one and not give the other, I can’t get my head around it, I think it’s crazy. It’s a bit baffling, really.”
BBC Sport’s Dale Johnson offered context on how the decisions are reached, noting that “VAR’s role is not, and ever has been, to create consistency of decision making.” That consistency of sticking with the referee’s on-field calls was visible on both incidents.
Maguire will serve a one-match suspension, which — given the fixture schedule — means he will not return for United’s next club game until April 13 against Leeds United. He is available for England selections in the intervening period before a key trip to Chelsea on April 18.
Arsenal
Money Talks: CIES Ranks the World’s Most Valuable Squads
CIES values nine squads over $1bn; Real Madrid leads at $1.78bn while Tottenham exceed $1bn. Values.
The surge in transfer prices and squad valuations has reshaped how clubs are measured. The CIES Football Observatory produces those estimates by weighing a player’s quality, age, position and length of contract, and those individual valuations are then summed to give each squad a market value.
The scale is striking. There are nine clubs with squads valued above $1 billion. At the top is Real Madrid with a squad valuation of $1.78 billion and Kylian Mbappé listed as the most valuable player at $221 million. Barcelona follow with $1.60 billion, Lamine Yamal accounting for $403.9 million of that total. Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain each sit at $1.55 billion, with Bukayo Saka ($131.5 million) and Désiré Doué ($150.3 million) named as their most valuable players respectively.
Liverpool’s roster is valued at $1.20 billion, most valuable player Florian Wirtz ($149.8 million). Bayern Munich come in at $1.15 billion with Michael Olise ($162.6 million) as their top-rated asset. Tottenham’s squad is valued at $1.03 billion; Xavi Simons is listed as their most valuable player ($98.1 million), despite the club’s current relegation fight and Igor Tudor’s assessment that players “are lacking when we attack, we lack the quality to score the goal. We are lacking in the middle to run and we are lacking behind to stay there to suffer and not concede the goal.”
The list also includes Manchester United ($953 million, Benjamin Šeško $100.3 million) and Inter ($942 million, Lautaro Martínez $117 million). Earlier-positioned squads under $1 billion include Atlético Madrid ($903 million, Julián Álvarez $136.5 million), Juventus ($896 million, Kenan Yıldız $152.5 million) and Brighton ($894 million, Diego Gómez $86.4 million).
Several voices in the game have reflected on the market changes. Karl-Heinz Rumminegge said, “There are some players who do not come with a price tag.” Robert Lewandowski complained, “You are young, you score 10 goals in six months and some club will pay 60 or 70 million,” adding, “Before, you had to achieve something.” Vincent Kompany warned players about hype: “I always tell my players, ‘When there’s hype please don’t believe it, you’re not that good.’”
Whether the valuations mirror on-field quality or the inflation of a transfer market remains the central question CIES data brings into focus.
Man Utd Transfer News
Carrick signals United could seek a different profile to succeed Casemiro
Carrick says United may pursue a different profile to replace Casemiro and addresses Fernandes. plus
Michael Carrick suggested Manchester United may not try to find a direct like-for-like successor to Casemiro this summer, saying the club could take a different approach to the midfield role that has been occupied by the Brazilian.
“Listen, this is totally no disrespect to Case, he’s been fantastic, he’s been a player for us and he’s been important in the dressing room and one that I’ve spoke to and connected with really well,” Carrick said. “But as a club and as a team, players come and go, some are bigger, some are maybe more important than others at different times.
“I don’t think it’s ever really about replacing like for like,” he continued. “I think you can go in a different direction, you understand what the balance of the squad needs, whether that’s on the pitch, off the pitch, leadership, positionally—there’s all sorts of different things going into it.”
At his best, Casemiro combines physicality and technical control, contributing defensively while also offering a threat in attack. His tally of seven Premier League goals this season is more than Amad Diallo, Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount have been able to muster between themselves. The piece also notes a vulnerability: an ageing Casemiro can see his positional discipline dip, particularly when fixtures arrive without a clear week of rest.
Finding a player with that blend of attributes would be challenging and expensive, Carrick implied, which is one reason the club might consider a different profile rather than a straight replacement.
Carrick is serving as interim manager and his reign is expected to conclude before the summer transfer window fully opens. He has worked under the assumption his remit remains limited to the current season and transfer discussion under his watch has been minimal.
On Bruno Fernandes, the background remains complex. Back in December, Fernandes revealed that it took the intervention of then-manager Ruben Amorim to prevent his Manchester United exit in the summer of 2025. There were concrete talks over a move to the Saudi Pro League, and his contract reportedly contains a release clause of an undisclosed value.
