Spurs, Juventus and Man Utd provide competition as Newcastle eye Europa League history maker

Newcastle United have once again been linked with a Serie A midfielder that helped Atalanta to their historic Europa League Final win against Bayer Leverkusen in midweek.

The Serie A club secured their first European competition win as former Everton and Fulham winger Ademola Lookman struck a stunning hat-trick to help his side to a 3-0 win over Xabi Alonso’s men at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium. For Newcastle supporters, the game may well have given some insight into why the Magpies were so keen on a move for Atalanta’s Brazilian midfielder Ederson after he put in a combative display in the heart of Gian Piero Gasperini’s side.

United were strongly linked with a move for the 24-year-old during the January transfer window and are believed to retain an interest in the former Corinthians and Salernitana star after monitoring his progress with several visits to the Gewiss Stadium over recent months. An asking price of around £30m was suggested during the transfer window but United’s battle with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations meant a move failed to come to fruition.

The midfielder, who was also linked to Serie A giants Juventus, opened up on the speculation in an interview with Sky Italia earlier this season as he said: "Being looked for by big clubs like Juventus? This is normal when the transfer market opens, for some situations to come up. It happened in Brazil, it happened when I was at Salernitana. For me, it's better this way, it means that I'm doing well and that there are many people watching me. It always happens with the market but the most important thing is to do well at Atalanta and I'm doing very well here.”

With the season now over and thoughts turning towards the summer transfer window, The Mirror have reported Newcastle are still keen on a move for Ederson - although has revealed they will face competition from Premier League rivals Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur as they look to boost their midfield ranks after suffering underwhelming seasons. Spurs are believed to be considering Ederson as a replacement for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who is expected to leave the club this summer and the Red Devils were said to have watched the Brazilian as doubt remains over the future of Casemiro and on-loan midfielder Sofyan Amrabat.

There is also talk of Juventus preparing to rekindle their interest in Ederson after they were unsuccessful in a move for the Atalanta star in January and La Liga giants Barcelona also ‘appreciate his talent’ and believe they could have an edge as he shares an agent with striker Vitor Roque. Perhaps the most crucial part of the report reveals that Atalanta’s success in the Europa League and their subsequent qualification for the Champions League means they will now only consider offers in excess of £50m before they will consider allowing Ederson to bring an end to his two-year stay at the club.