Liverpool transfer news: Reds aiming for Ederson

Liverpool want Atalanta midfielder Ederson but Newcastle United are ready to rival them for the Brazilian. A deal could be done.

Gazzetta dello Sport report that Liverpool are interested in signing Atalanta midfielder Ederson. Though, they will face competition from Newcastle United.

In fact, this one could get complicated. Ederson's midfield partner, Teun Koopmeiners, is wanted by Juventus. Atalanta will not sell both players, however, and that means someone is going to have to make a big offer to 'win' this race.

If you don't complete a deal before someone signs even one of these players, after all, you're not getting your man.

No price is suggested for Ederson but £34m wouldn't be enough for Koopmeiners. It seems reasonable to suggest that the same could be said about the Brazilian.

---

Ederson is a 24-year-old midfielder who is particularly interesting for his defensive stats. Per Fbref, he's in the 95th percentle for blocks from midfielders across Europe's top 5 leagues and 84th for interceptions. He typically wins 2.5 tackles per games, too, while also boasting impressive dribble stats.

The drawback here is that Ederson doesn't pass the ball particularly well. His 82.3 per cent completion rate is only 45th percentile across the top five leagues, for instance - and Ryan Gravenberch is the only midfielder at Liverpool lower than that (82.1).

Compare that to Curtis Jones, for instance, who passes at 91.6 per cent this season. Wataru Endo completes over 86 per cent and Alexis Mac Allister 88 per cent. Dominik Szoboszlai, a much more advanced midfielder, even passes more consistently (83.6).

But at the same time, Atalanta aren't a team known for their consistent passing. They're actually bottom half as a team in Serie A, so perhaps that's something Liverpool could easily work on with Ederson.

The real question is whether they still need another midfielder. That one's up for debate - Thiago will likely leave in the summer but as he hasn't played at all this season, does he really need replacing?