“We were amazed” – DoF responds to Manchester United transfer collapse

Atalanta director of football Cristiano Giuntoli has admitted that they were left amazed by Manchester United’s decision to pull out of a deal for midfielder Ederson.

Gianluca di Marzio reports on comments from Giuntoli today from a press conference as he takes charge at the Italian club.

Manchester United collapse

Ederson appeared destined for a move to Manchester United this summer, with a deal agreed before the World Cup.

He was competing at the tournament with Brazil, and all indications were that Manchester Unite planned to finalise the deal once his participation had come to an end. There had not been any belief that the deal would not happen.

Instead, Manchester United announced last week that, following medical procedures, the deal for the Atalanta midfielder would not be going ahead. Michael Carrick’s side are no longer interested in the 27-year-old.

That has been emphasised by their move for Andrey Santos, which has already been finalised. The pending deal for Aston Villa’s Youri Tielemans is only further evidence of them moving on.

Atalanta response

It’s already led to questions being asked at Atalanta. They had fully prepared for a sale, and Giuntoli admits that they were left amazed at the collapse.

“Ederson? We were amazed. He’s happy to stay and we’re working on his contract renewal,” he said when asked about the affair.

Whether the Brazilian ends up signing that contract renewal, remains to be seen. He’s long been linked with a move from Atalanta after starring for them in recent years.

He appeared to have secured that move with Manchester United this summer, but they’ve elected to look elsewhere and not risk a potentially expensive problem due to his previous injury records. There may be other clubs willing to take that risk, though. For now, Atalanta are moving on and focusing on a potential new deal instead.