Man City Agrees £35m Deal for Benfica Goalkeeper
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Manchester City has agreed a deal with Benfica for the £35million signing of goalkeeper Ederson Moraes, according to the Portuguese champions.
The 23-year-old broke into the Benfica team last March and has made 37 appearances for the club.
“Benfica has reached agreement with Manchester City for the amount of 40m euros,” the club told the Portuguese stock exchange.
They also confirmed 50% of the fee will be paid to “third parties”.
City sources say the transfer cannot be concluded until the third-party element is resolved to the Premier League’s satisfaction.
After Sunday’s 2-1 Portuguese Cup final win over Vitoria Guimaraes, Moraes said it was “probably” his final appearance for Benfica.
The Brazil Under-23 cap is yet to make his full international debut, but is in the squad for the forthcoming friendlies against Argentina and Australia.
City manager Pep Guardiola has been interested in Ederson for some time and made room in his squad by releasing Willy Caballero on Friday.
Earlier this week, the club’s England goalkeeper Joe Hart confirmed he would be leaving Torino after a season-long loan.
Ederson’s arrival will place more pressure on Claudio Bravo, who has had a torrid time after arriving from Barcelona to take over from Joe Hart as City’s number one.
Guardiola made his first move of the summer with the £43m signing of Monaco’s Portuguese playmaker Bernardo Silva on Friday.
He is also understood to be interested in Monaco and France full-back Benjamin Mendy, 22.
