Man Utd will sign a second midfielder after Ederson

After weeks of speculation, finally, Manchester United will confirm the arrival of Ederson.

When news broke that Casemiro was set to leave Old Trafford at the end of his contract, it was clear that United could waste no time in finding a replacement.

They have been looking for a while to include not only one player but two players.

Ederson will be the first. Arriving from Atalanta, he is thought to be the cheaper of the two options Jason Wilcox and Co will welcome to the club this season.

Other options include the likes of Elliot Anderson and Sandro Tonali, although their £100m price tags may rule them out.

Man Utd will confirm two midfielders soon

As the weeks went by, it quickly became apparent how much United wanted to bring Ederson to Old Trafford.

At first, it looked like he was signing for Atletico Madrid, but the Red Devils quickly agreed to a deal with the player before opening club-to-club talks with Atalanta.

It is reported that a fee of £35m has been agreed for the Brazilian player to head to England football. From United, they will hope that this is not a repeat of Manuel Ugarte.

However, 26-year-old Ederson, a seasoned professional, knows his game inside and out. There should be no danger of Ugarte 2.0 here.

So, what’s next? Well, he won’t be the last midfielder to walk through the door. Indeed, according to the Manchester Evening News, the club are also on the verge of signing young Colombian Cristian Orozco.

Last year, United made an initial deal with Fortaleza CEIF to sign the 17-year-old this summer. Well, the formalities are all done and you will officially join this summer.

Orozco did not sign immediately as the rules and players in South America are strict; they cannot move until they turn 18. The young player will do that in July.

He has already visited Carrington and will now head to Manchester next month for his official registration.

Why Orozco could be Man United’s new Casemiro

The news of Casemiro’s departure was sensational, especially after the campaign the Brazilian enjoyed.

A veteran of the game, the multiple Champions League winner hasn’t always enjoyed a good season in the Premier League but has been impressively successful, scoring nine goals in 2025/26. That was the highest number of goals Casemiro scored in one season.

Trying to change not only his output in front of goal but his defensive work will be a challenge. In Ederson, they will be ticking the defensive box.

Described as “the most powerful midfielder in the world” by Italian content creator Damiano Coccia, he is the latest signing to help Michael Carrick’s side improve now.

However, Orozco is one of the future. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad player, however, far from it. The teenager is one of the best young midfielders to emerge from South America in recent years and has been hailed as “the next Casemiro” by some.

So, what is this baby all about? Well, and compared to Moises Caicedo of Chelsea, one prominent commentator of the academy game has noted that the Colombian sensation is “a destroyer” in the middle of the park with “leadership maturity beyond his years.”

That sounds like Casemiro and the numbers back that up nicely. During the U17 CONMEBOL tournament in 2025, the midfielder won the most duels per game, 5.2 of them in fact. To do this, Casemiro won 6.54 duels out of 90 in the Premier League this season and Ederson won 5.44 in Serie A.

A neat player on the ball, Orozco is completely unstoppable and what will delight Carrick and United fans as they seek to replace Casemiro is the youth potential.

Although the Brazilian is a veteran of the sport, Orozco is just a spring chicken with a strong recovery speed.

We may not see the young Colombian playing many minutes in the senior team in his first year at Old Trafford but the future is bright.