Brazilian Ederson, a workaholic with added value

“Thinking badly of others is a sin, but one is often right.a”, asserted a politician of the calibre of Giulio Andreotti, adopting a maxim of Pope Pius XI. And how can we not think that Manchester United sinned against the player they had their eye on, José Ederson, promising him Albion fame and a generous salary, and against Atalanta, who developed him and made him a key player in the midfield, and with whom the terms of the transfer had been agreed. Questioning his fitness, a month after the agreement was reached (€45 million fixed fee plus bonuses), hurts the person and the professional, as well as offending and putting Atalanta in difficulty, who had planned to reshape their midfield squad with the departure of the 27-year-old Brazilian. In the meantime, he has been called up by Ancelotti to replace the injured Roma player Wesley and took the field at the World Cup against Haiti and Norway. All this after a season in which, after having a meniscus repair in his right knee performed at the end of August last year, he made 31 league appearances, 9 in the Champions League and two in the Coppa Italia, making him the fourth-longest-played Atalanta player after the workaholics de Roon, Zappacosta, and Djimsiti, with a total of 3,169 minutes. Something doesn't add up, because the second medical examination requested by the English side feels like a pretext. And questioning Italian sports medicine is a real backlash. In no time, Manchester United secured the 22-year-old Santos from Chelsea for €60 million. It's true that the summer sales have begun in Italy, but a player's value remains high, and parting with him means seeing him and the club that owns his rights receive a fair reward. As things stand, Ederson is virtually at Maurizio Sarri's disposal, and Atalanta, with CEO Luca Percassi and sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli, is ready to evaluate new offers for the Brazilian midfielder. In the meantime, they could even extend his contract, which expires in June 2027. Ederson is highly esteemed in Spain as well as in England, where Newcastle must fill the gap left by the sale of Sandro Tonali to De Zerbi's Tottenham.