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Manchester City in talks to sign Ederson from Benfica for world record fee for goalkeeper

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Benfica goalkeeper Ederson is due to arrive in Manchester on Monday for a medical with Manchester City

Benfica goalkeeper Ederson could be heading for Manchester City, with the clubs in talks over a potential world record fee for a stopper, according to Sky sources.

It is understood Ederson will arrive in Manchester on Monday for further talks and will have a medical on Tuesday ahead of a proposed £34.8m move.

The current world record fee for a goalkeeper is the £32.6m paid by Juventus to Parma for Gianluigi Buffon in 2001.

The highly-rated 23-year-old Brazilian shot-stopper originally joined Benfica as a 16-year-old but he was released after two years and spent time with Portuguese lower-league side Ribeirao and then Rio Ave, before Benfica signed him again in the summer of 2015.

His possible arrival at the Etihad Stadium casts further doubt over the prospects of City's England international keeper Joe Hart, who has been on loan at Torino.

City had their problems with the goalkeeper position last season following the controversial decision to jettison Hart.

Claudio Bravo was signed for £17.1m from Barcelona last summer but came in for criticism before picking up an injury towards the end of the campaign, while Willy Caballero will leave when his contract expires this summer.

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And Ederson is potentially set to challenge Bravo, having won a pair of League titles at Benfica and been called into the Brazil squad in March, although he is yet to be capped at senior level.

He made what may prove to be his final appearance for Benfica on Sunday night as they completed the double by beating Vitoria Guimaraes 2-1 in the Portuguese Cup final.

When asked about City's interest following Sunday's match, Ederson told Portuguese newspaper Record: "I still do not know, but this was probably my last match with Benfica."

Ederson in Champions League action for Benfica earlier this season
Image: Ederson in Champions League action for Benfica earlier this season

City are wasting little time in strengthening ahead of the 2017/18 campaign, having already completed a £43m deal for Monaco midfielder Bernardo Silva.

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