Pep Guardiola has had a devastating debut campaign in the Premier League. Neither he nor the board has taken it lightly. The Spaniard, who is known to spend a fortune during transfer windows, which was clear from his managerial stint with Bayern Munich, shocked everyone by inheriting a side largely selected by his predecessors and spending only moderately.
However, he was back into form as soon as their dismal campaign ended as is evident from their buying of AS Monaco’s star forward Bernardo Silva. It was the first big signing of the season, which just took a couple days to get finalised. City are making a statement in a way they do best, by splurging cash. And if reports are to be believed, Guardiola is next eyeing a move for new Portuguese champions SL Benfica’s goalkeeper Ederson Moraes.
The Manchester outfit are reportedly willing to pay as much as £33 million for the 23-year-old shot-stopper after the Brazilian helped his side to the league title. After a mess of a season, which was mainly because of their goalkeeping errors, a goalie will have been one of the first targets this summer for Manchester City.
Claudio Bravo’s terrible displays in the matches he played have led many to question Guardiola’s decision to send England no. 1 Joe Hart on loan to a Serie A side. Despite the English keeper conceding a whopping 62 goals in 36 outings for Torino, behind City’s well-organized back line, he could have excelled. However, the Spaniard doesn’t seem to want Hart back at Etihad and even if that happens (with Willy Caballero released), Hart is unlikely to be their first-choice.
Guardiola has an affinity towards younger players, who can adapt to his philosophy well and seamlessly. And Ederson suits the bill perfectly. He has conceded just 12 goals in 27 league appearances completing 18 shutouts. Benfica have gone shoulder to shoulder with FC Porto in every department and it is clearly their defensive excellence, which has pushed them to the top.
And Benfica should be fully credited for recognising a talent like Ederson very early in his career. An academy product of Sao Paolo, Benfica picked him up when he was only 16. However, he couldn’t impress in the beginning and ran out of a contract forcing him to move Portuguese side GD Ribeirão and then Rio Ave FC. Benfica bought him again in the summer of 2015 and he showed signs of improvement.
His move to City is almost done, but will he be the first choice next season?
