Manchester City sign Ederson from Benefica for €40m

New Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson has set his sights on winning the Premier League and Champions League after completing his €40m move from Benfica.

The 23-year-old became Pep Guardiola’s second signing of the summer after negotiations over the severance of his third-party ownership agreement with former club Rio Ave and Jorge Mendes’ agency Gestifute were finalised.

Ederson is likely to start next campaign as Guardiola’s first choice after an unconvincing maiden season from Claudio Bravo and the Brazilian has already set his sights high.

“I like everything about Manchester City. I have always had the dream to play in English football and now I’m going to make it true,” he told mancity.com after signing a six-year contract.

“With Pep Guardiola, City are growing more and more. He is putting in place a young team for the future. Those were important factors in making my decision.

“Manchester City has an amazing squad. I think they managed to have a good season. Next season, we will have to be focused to achieve the goal of winning trophies.

“As for my ambitions with City, I want to win the Premier League and the Champions League. Those are my two main goals in this shirt.”

City have got two major bits of business done early this summer, with Ederson following the arrival of playmaker Bernardo Silva from Monaco.

City are understood to be paying Benfica €40m for Ederson, making Gianluigi Buffon’s transfer from Parma to Juventus – €51m in 2001 – the most expensive for a goalkeeper.

Ederson, who has yet to win an international cap, is Guardiola’s second attempt at finding a goalkeeper who both fits his requirements in terms of playing style and can handle the Premier League.

Bravo’s move from Barcelona last season proved less than successful with a number of the 34-year-old’s performances coming in for criticism.

While the Chile international may have struggled to adjust to English football Ederson is convinced he can make the step up.

The Brazilian has all the qualities Guardiola wants in a goalkeeper: good distribution, a willingness to cover the space outside his penalty area, quick reflexes and good at close-range shot-stopping.

“I have always watched it on TV,” he said of English football. “My impression is that it is a very intense game, box-to-box. The grounds are always full and the stadiums are nice. This is a very captivating football. The competition here would motivate any player. I’m ready, I’m always ready.

“I’m going to try to adapt to this league as quick as possible. Everyone knows here the competition is ferocious. It’s a bit different than the Portuguese league.

“At Benfica I played a little bit more advanced and I was involved a lot in the game. I think that revolution in the way goalkeepers get involved in the game was very important.

“I already had that skill to play outside the box. When I played for a team (Rio Ave) lower down I didn’t have the chance to play far from the goal, I had to stay close to it.

“But when I went to Benfica, I was able to improve what I knew and play further out getting more involved in the games, being more active. I have been developing that since.”

City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain is delighted the club have secured the services of one of the most promising talents on the continent.

“He is one of the best young goalkeepers in Europe and he is an important addition to the squad for next season and the coming seasons,” he said.

“He is young, has all the qualities you could want as a top-class goalkeeper and I think he’ll fit in really well to our squad.”