Manchester United are still hoping to complete the signing of Atalanta midfielder Ederson, despite concerns over his fitness threatening to derail the deal. The Brazil international’s move to Old Trafford was thrown into doubt earlier this week after medical tests flagged up issues relating to a knee injury suffered last season, with United understood to be exploring ways of restructuring the £38.8million agreement.
A History of Medical Hurdles
It is far from the first time a proposed United signing has hit a major stumbling block during a medical. Club legend Ruud van Nistelrooy knows that feeling better than most, having joined United from Dutch side PSV Eindhoven in 2001. But his tenure with United was actually supposed to start a year earlier. Speaking on The Overlap with Gary Neville in 2003, the former Netherlands striker recalled the extraordinary ordeal.
“My first attempt signing for Manchester United was the most anxious moment in my career,” he told his former team-mate. “I did the whole medical in Manchester, and we were driving up to Old Trafford to do the press conference to sign and the phone rang.
“I was told by the orthopaedic surgeon from United who saw the MRI that my knee was not right. He said, ‘you have to turn around and go back to your hotel, you’re not going to pass a medical’.
“We turned the car around and I was seeing Old Trafford right in front of me. Once I got back to the hotel, the news already went out quickly to the press and there were photographers everywhere. The paparazzi were outside the room trying to get pictures and I had to close the curtains. I said, ‘what the freak is happening to me now’ – it felt like I was in a movie.
“They said they’ll call me in an hour and confirmed that I could not go through with the transfer, so I had to go back to PSV Eindhoven, and we kept on going with my training, then I collapsed.”
The Aftermath and Recovery
Later that week, Van Nistelrooy was ruled out for the next nine months after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during a training session. “I messed my whole knee up and that was live on Sky, who were there,” he said. “I did an exercise with heading the ball and twisted my knee. When you’re so close to something so huge that you’ve worked your whole life for, and it’s not happening, you feel the lowest.”
Fortunately for Van Nistelrooy, the story had a happy ending. After recovering from his injury and returning to goalscoring form, United came back a year later to complete the deal. The Dutchman went on to score 150 goals in 219 appearances for the club, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup.
Ederson's Current Situation
Ederson will be hoping his transfer saga follows a similar path, with United still understood to be working on a solution that could yet see him join Michael Carrick’s side. The collapse of a deal for Atalanta midfielder Ederson is far from the first Manchester United transfer to be impeded by a medical.
