Man Utd directors already regret snubbing ‘out of this world’ midfielder in favour of Santos & Tielemans

Last summer, Manchester United were on the cusp of signing Ederson from Atalanta, but decided to pull the trigger at the eleventh hour.

The 27-year-old had been on the Red Devils’ shortlist for quite some time. When the Brazilian received a late World Cup call-up, he joined Carlo Ancelotti’s squad as a Man Utd betrothed.

But after two medicals, the Premier League giants opted against buying Ederson, turning their attention towards alternative targets.

Man Utd regret walking away from Ederson deal

After pulling out of the negotiations with Atalanta, MUFC decided to activate Youri Tielemans’ £35 million release clause.

The former Aston Villa star’s cost was almost similar to Ederson’s, so Jason Wilcox and Co. felt they made the right decision by resorting to a Premier League-proven midfielder with valuable experience under his belt.

However, it appears that Man Utd officials have privately admitted that Tielemans and Andrey Santos were both fallback options, while the main targets were Elliot Anderson, Mateus Fernandes, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Ederson.

This was reported by The Sun journalist Samuel Luckhurst, who added that the club directors already regret their decision not to sign Ederson when his medical results flagged an issue.

The Brazilian, whom Fabio Capello once described as ‘out of this world’s midfielder, has since renewed his contract with Atalanta, pledging his allegiance to the Italian club.

INEOS have also realised that their failure to recruit a new left-back was a significant blunder, especially amid Luke Shaw’s current struggles.

Lewis Hall was the top target, but Newcastle refused to open talks with their rivals, who weren’t able to find a suitable alternative.

Should Man Utd regret signing Tielemans & Santos?

This season, Tielemans has been omnipresent in Michael Carrick’s starting lineup, even though he hasn’t always convinced.

The Belgian has delivered a few sub-par displays, but in his defence, he doesn’t have a clear role to play alongside Kobbie Mainoo.

The duo are arguably too similar to play side-by-side, so the former Aston Villa man would probably fare better when replacing the young Englishman and forming a double pivot with Carlos Baleba. That being said, Mainoo should be the main choice for the creative midfielder role.

Contrary to Tielemans, Santos has been struggling for playing time. The 22-year-old commanded a £50 million fee when making the move to Chelsea, but his inability to earn minutes when Baleba was unavailable is telling enough.

The Brazilian is obviously at the bottom of the midfield pecking order, and perhaps Man Utd should indeed regret signing him instead of Ederson, at least until proven otherwise.