Saudi Pro League club Al Ittihad have been linked with Ederson, who still has two years left of his contract at City; Pep Guardiola on Ederson future: "Maybe he has other options."
Wednesday 24 July 2024 14:44, UK
Pep Guardiola has revealed Ederson could leave the club in this transfer window, admitting the goalkeeper "maybe has other options".
Following a pre-season 4-3 friendly defeat against Celtic, Guardiola said his Brazilian goalkeeper could very well depart the club this summer after seven years of prolonged success. Ederson played the second half of City's defeat in the first game of their US tour, conceding twice.
Al Ittihad are the latest of two Saudi Arabian clubs interested in signing Ederson, who still has two years left of his contract at City. Nothing formal has yet been submitted by Al Ittihad, but there is an expectation that a bid is on the way.
Al Nassr are actually the only club to have made a formal offer for Ederson this summer. It was rejected because it was well below City's valuation.
Speaking after the game, Guardiola was unsure on Ederson's future, saying: "I don't know - he has to see maybe now other options. Of course I'd like him to stay. Depends now the clubs. I don't know the situation, no contact in the last days. A question of training and being with us until the transfer window finishes and we see what happens.
"He's been the keeper for the team that has incredible success the last seven or eight years. We have an incredible three keepers, especially the two who play regularly. A really important position in the team. Really good team [of keepers]. We will see until the last day of the transfer window when anything can happen. Not just Ederson but many players."
Guardiola's openness to the questions on Ederson's future was in contrast to how he had responded to reports of Kevin De Bruyne leaving this summer in his pre-match media briefing.
Al Ittihad have also been linked with De Bruyne, who has entered the final year of his contract at City.
However, speaking ahead of City's friendly against Celtic in North Carolina, Guardiola said: "Kevin is not going".
Sky Sports' Lewis Jones:
"It was a save with such match-winning connotations that it made Pep Guardiola fall to the floor.
"Stefan Ortega - the man in the shadow of Ederson for so long - stepped up by denying Heung-Min Son in a one-on-one duel that proved a decisive moment in Man City's unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title. Son raced goalwards and had only Ortega - who replaced the injured Ederson earlier in the second half - to beat. With the goal at his mercy, Son's shot was brilliantly saved by Ortega, before Erling Haaland scored his second goal of the game from the penalty spot just minutes later to secure a vital three points.
"Ortega saved the actions, otherwise Arsenal is champion," conceded Guardiola. "That is the reality in modern football. The margins are so, so tight."
"Perhaps that moment is why Guardiola is relaxed about Ederson's future. With no noises emerging regarding City looking to use the transfer market to recruit a goalkeeper, in the eyes of Guardiola, Ortega could be the natural replacement. In 632 minutes of Premier League action last season, Ortega's numbers stood strong up against Ederson, bettering his team-mate in key metrics like saves-per-90 and goals prevented according to expected goals.
"City could need freshening up in the defensive department.
"Despite edging out Arsenal in the title race, City's expected goals against figure of 35.9 and shots on target faced data (111) were the most they've shipped since the 19/20 season. Opposition teams who counter attacked with precision did find ways to break through.
"Although it didn't stop the City juggernaut rolling on, that moment with Son did show that even another slight regression next season in the City ranks will leave them vulnerable to the chasing pack.
"Perhaps replacing Ederson is Guardiola's game-changing plan?"
Ederson is not the only City player whose future is uncertain, with midfielder Kalvin Phillips - also on the tour - anticipated to leave.
While stating that, during the first friendly against Celtic last night in North Carolina, he was taken off to protect him from injury, Guardiola said: "I don't know what's going to happen (about his future). He knows the situation, and we'll see."
Phillips spent the second half of last season on loan at West Ham.
The 2024 summer transfer window officially closes on August 30 at 11pm UK time in the Premier League and 11.30pm in Scotland.
The Premier League has brought forward Deadline Day to link up with the other major leagues in Europe. The closing dates were set following discussions with the leagues in England, Germany, Italy, Spain and France.
