Mfalsafa@mfalsafa_
When I watched Ederson in the past three seasons, the things that stood out to me were his running capabilities and engine.
Covers a lot of ground defensively and never stops tracking back.
In the final 1/3, he makes a lot of exceptional runs into the box and into open space. Gives you a G/A threat and an indirect creative one via the separation his off-ball runs create - that’s why I pretty much said in a different comment you’ll notice a lot of “McTominayness” about him in the final 1/3 and box.
Defensively, I thought his positioning and game intelligence as a sitter that can hold the midfield together wasn’t really a strong attribute of his. Was never a huge fan of the way he defends large spaces when team is transitioning.
But he does have good awareness, timing, and anticipation to sniff out danger and break out the play.
On the ball, I felt he was a bit underwhelming. Never struck me as a strong progressive passer (not outstanding either in general play).
I mean he can cross from wide but he’s mostly a reliable circulator and recycler of play. Not really a secondary controller/creator type of profile.
In buildup, didn’t see him as a reliable exit point that can withstand pressure and turn comfortably when pressed.
But I did like the fact that he allows you to build out from the back with bounce passes (good alternative).
Has the physical stature required in midfield, stride length to cover ground and reclaim the ball from fast runners, and tank to keep running for a full 90.
Not a particularly bad player. In my opinion, he’s being considered as a a strong candidate at United because of his versatility - what he offers as a runner and ground coverage as a ball-winner.
