Liverpool will have been rueing the fact that they didn’t make it to Wednesday’s Europa League final.
The Reds were rightfully favourites for the competition, but were blown away by Atalanta in the quarter-finals.
As the Italian side demonstrated in Dublin, there was no great shame in that. Gian Piero Gasperini is a top coach who has shown exactly why he was briefly tipped to be in the running for the Liverpool job.
After the game itself, Gasperini was quick to highlight his team’s ‘extraordinary’ win at Anfield in April. It’s clearly a point of great satisfaction for him. And so it should be.
Another source of pride should be the team he has assembled in Bergamo. Liverpool have been linked with moves for a couple, with Teun Koopmeiners a favourite of the gossip columns. To our eye though, there’s another Atalanta player who the Reds will fancy more.
No surprise to see Liverpool move for Ederson
While Koopmeiners himself was impressive in Atalanta’s 3-0 demolition of Bayer Leverkusen, there was only one star of the show in Dublin.
Ademola Lookman’s hat-trick was absolutely phenomenal. To say he single-handedly won his team the trophy would be wrong, but he was clearly the difference.
Aside from Lookman though, Liverpool fans will have been interested to note the performance of midfielder Ederson. The Brazilian has been linked with a move to Anfield. And on this evidence, you can understand why.
We think Liverpool may have already had a very close eye on Ederson as they faced Atalanta last month. The 24-year-old was good then, but on Wednesday he was even better.
As per statistician Statman Dave on X, Ederson was everywhere against Bayer Leverkusen.
His number show a surprisingly all-round midfielder who is adept at winning the ball back but also using it well. Exactly what Arne Slot needs in his Liverpool squad next season.
Why Ederson is perfect for Liverpool
Liverpool are badly in need of securing a defensive-minded midfielder for the long-term. We love Wataru Endo and what he’s brought to the team, but he can certainly be upgraded.
And although Ederson isn’t necessarily a specialist defensive midfielder, the fact that he’s able to win the ball back so often show how combative and efficient he is in that regard. The Brazil international has been called ‘powerful’ in the past [Sky Sports] and that could be his ticket into the Liverpool team.
At 24 he’s a good age to develop further but also has two-and-a-half seasons in European football under his belt. The former Cruzeiro man is right in that sweet spot that Michael Edwards likes to sign from.
With his performances throughout Atalanta’s Europa League campaign, culminating in a top showing in the final, Ederson is also proving himself on the continent.
His price-tag may have just gone up considerably, but we think that Ederson’s display last night could well have convinced Liverpool to sign him. It certainly would not be a surprise.