Italian media suggest Manchester United used the Ederson medical as an excuse to withdraw from the €45m Atalanta deal, so could now turn their focus to Roma’s France international Manu Kone instead.
Multiple sources reported this evening that Manchester United had informed Atalanta of their intention to abandon the transfer, which had been agreed back on June 2.
It would’ve been €40.5m fixed fee plus a further €4.5m in performance-related add-ons.
Manchester United saw Kone opportunity with Ederson
The two clubs agreed to wait until after Ederson had finished his participation at the 2026 World Cup with Brazil before completing the necessary medical tests, following an initial quick check-up in the United States.
However, as the weeks wore on, Manchester United started to get cold feet and requested more in-depth medical examinations.
After 48 hours of those scans, today the Premier League side informed Atalanta they would not be going ahead with the move.
According to the Italian media reporting of the situation, including Sportitalia, Atalanta are entirely confident there are no serious fitness issues for Ederson.
They believe it is no coincidence that Manchester United saw an opportunity to change their minds after the rumours of growing interest in Roma midfielder Manu Kone.
The two play very similar roles, so buying both for a total cost of around €100m would be excessive even for the Old Trafford side.
If they have withdrawn from the Ederson move, it is now far more likely that they will dive in with a proposal for Roma’s Kone.
He has seen his value and profile soar after performances for France at the 2026 World Cup, where he pushed Aurelien Tchaouameni out of the starting XI.
Agree , they listen to to many ex players and again are not sticking to there plan, typical . So what are they gonne do if Kone says no thanks , I do not play for these owners who do not have a clue what they are doing
sell him for 65 million and buy Antony & Fagioli.
Dobnyk for Piccoli
Don’t sell to these crooks.
Italian clubs should unit and help each other.. Man U drop Ederson, ok you pay Atalanta 15 mil ( minimum 10 mil) for wasting time and logistics. Roma, you want Kone, ok 65 Mil for Man U then split some money with Atalanta, for sure Gasp will raid his old team again this summer.