Manchester United consider shirt number for Ederson after £34.9m deal for first summer arrival
Manchester United are reportedly close to signing Atalanta midfielder Ederson for £34.9m, with The Athletic reporting that a deal has been struck for the Brazilian to become the club’s first arrival of the summer window.
The fixed fee is understood to be €40.5m (£34.9m) with a further €4.5m (£3.8m) in potential bonuses, taking the total package to a possible €45m (£38.8m). Ederson has been presented with a four-year contract that includes an option for an additional 12 months, and personal terms are said to have been agreed. The transfer remains subject to the player passing a medical examination, which both parties hope to complete in early July before an official announcement.
The move comes after Michael Carrick was confirmed as Manchester United’s permanent manager on a deal until 2028, following a remarkable turnaround that saw the team climb to a top-three Premier League finish and secure Champions League qualification. That European return is understood to have been a decisive factor in convincing Ederson to join.
Once the paperwork is signed, attention will quickly turn to a matter of considerable interest to fans: which shirt number the 26-year-old will wear at Old Trafford.
Shirt number options
Throughout his senior career, Ederson has predominantly worn the No.13 shirt, having first taken it at Fortaleza in the 2020-21 season before retaining it at Salernitana and during his four campaigns with Atalanta. He also wore No.40 at Cruzeiro and No.15 at Corinthians earlier in his career. For the Brazil national team, where he made his senior debut in June 2024 and earned his most recent cap in a 4-1 loss to Argentina in March 2025, he has worn No.8, No.17 and No.24.
His favoured No.13, however, is currently unavailable at Manchester United. It belongs to Patrick Dorgu, a recent signing who kept the number he wore at Lecce and for Denmark. The No.13 has a varied history at the club, having been worn by players such as Ji-sung Park and Brian McClair, as well as goalkeepers Lee Grant, Anders Lindegaard and Roy Carroll.
The current list of vacant senior shirt numbers at Old Trafford includes No.14, No.17, No.20, No.27, No.28 and No.29. The No.17 shirt may hold particular significance given that it was previously worn by fellow Brazilian Fred and has also been assigned to Ederson by the national side in recent seasons. Once Casemiro officially departs at the end of the month, the No.18 shirt will also become vacant — a number with its own storied past, having been worn by club legends Paul Scholes and Ashley Young, and more recently by current captain Bruno Fernandes.
Ederson, who will turn 27 on 7 July, is a dynamic box-to-box midfielder who has made over 150 appearances for Atalanta. He was part of Brazil’s initial 55-man squad ahead of the World Cup but was not selected for the tournament. His arrival is seen as the first step in a significant midfield rebuild.
Casemiro’s departure
The need for a new midfielder has been driven by the impending exit of Casemiro, who will leave the club upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the month after four years in Manchester. The Brazilian joined United in August 2022 and went on to make 146 appearances, scoring 21 goals. He played a key role in the club’s Carabao Cup triumph in 2023 and the FA Cup victory in 2024. His departure frees up significant wages, estimated at around £430,000 per week, and leaves a gap that Carrick has made his priority to fill.
United are expected to target at least one more midfielder this summer, with names such as Sandro Tonali, Elliot Anderson, Carlos Baleba, Mateus Fernandes and Aurélien Tchouaméni having been linked. A broader squad overhaul is also anticipated, with reports suggesting as many as six to eight new arrivals could be on the cards, and potential departures including Marcus Rashford, Manuel Ugarte, Joshua Zirkzee, Altay Bayindir and Andre Onana. For now, however, all eyes are on Ederson — and the number on his back.
