Benfica confirm goalkeeper Ederson will join Manchester City in £34.9m move

Benfica have confirmed that goalkeeper Ederson is set to join Manchester City in a deal worth €40 million (£34.9m).

The Portuguese club announced via an official statement that they had accepted the offer for the 23-year-old, who becomes the second most expensive goalkeeper in the history of the game.

Gianluigi Buffon set the world record back in 2001 when he joined Juventus from Parma in a deal worth €53m. That represented an outlay of £32.6m at the time, so technically City have paid more in pounds due to the variance in exchange rates.

Ederson joined Benfica in the summer of 2015 and has won two league titles during his time in the Primeira Liga, as well as the Portuguese Cup this season.

As well as being a highly-rated shot stopper, the Brazilian, who is uncapped at present, is renowned for his contribution to Benfica's attacking play, which is why he has been targeted by Pep Guardiola, after the failed experiment of signing Claudio Bravo last summer.

When confirmed by City, the Ederson deal will take the club's summer spending to £78m already, following the £43m capture of Monaco playmaker Bernardo Silva.

Guardiola, who has sanctioned the departures of a number of first-team players such as Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy and Jesus Navas after a disappointing season in which they finished third, is also thought to be on the brink of a deal for Monaco left-back Benjamin Mendy.

Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker is also thought to be a summer target.