Manchester City ready to open contract talks with 321-appearance crucial first-team star

Premier League champions Manchester City are reportedly ready to open talks with their mainstay first-team goalkeeper Ederson in the coming months.

The Brazil international has played one of the most crucial roles in Pep Guardiola’s success since first arriving at the club from Benfica in the summer of 2017, revolutionising the way goalkeeping is viewed at both Manchester City and across the English game.

Ederson’s composure and insistence on playing the football out from defence with his feet has enabled Manchester City to develop their game ten-fold, making them one of the most eye-catching teams in the world when in possession.

Such is Ederson’s importance to the Manchester City system that he has now registered over 320 appearances across all competitions for the club in seven seasons, winning everything there is available to win at the football club.

And now, it appears as though Txiki Begiristain and his boardroom colleagues at the City Football Academy are unwilling to take any risks with regards to Ederson’s future, with a new contract seemingly on the horizon.

According to the information of HITC Football, Manchester City are now ready to open contract talks with Ederson as club officials look to tie down the legendary Brazil international goalkeeper at the Etihad Stadium with two years remaining on his current agreement.

It is explained that with the current UEFA Champions League holders unwilling to let the first-team goalkeeper’s contract run down any further, they hope terms can be agreed with the 30-year-old before the 2024/25 begins in August.

Ederson has been Manchester City’s mainstay first-choice goalkeeper since the beginning of the 2017/18 season, with the Etihad club providing a financial outlay of £35 million to Portuguese club Benfica.

At the time, the transfer for Ederson to Manchester City made him the second most expensive goalkeeper of all-time – and currently fifth highest – after Gianluigi Buffon’s £33 million agreement.

Ederson is unlikely to be displaced as Manchester City’s first-choice goalkeeper any time soon, however the signing of Stefan Ortega Moreno on a free transfer from Arminia Bielefeld in 2022 has ensured that the first-choice remains well on his toes given the exemplary talent and competition from the German shot-stopper.