Stefan Ortega vs Ederson? Man City’s goalkeepers compared as Saudi offer tabled | OneFootball

Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson reported back for pre-season training on Monday but the Brazilian’s future at the club remains far from certain.

Ederson has been a stalwart for City since joining from Benfica in the summer of 2017, making 332 appearances and keeping 155 clean sheets across all competitions to date, lifting 13 major honours along the way — including six Premier League titles and a Champions League.

However, Ederson is about to enter the final two years of his contract, which was last extended in September 2021. According to multiple reports, the 30-year-old has already agreed terms on a move to the Saudi Pro League with Al Nassr, where he could join up with Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane and former City teammate Aymeric Laporte. All that’s left now is for the two clubs to agree on a fee.

It’s understood that if Ederson did leave the Etihad Stadium, Man City have no plans to go on the hunt for a big-money goalkeeper to replace him between the sticks, instead promoting Stefan Ortega to the No.1 position.

The 31-year-old German joined City from Arminia Bielefeld to little fanfare in the summer of 2022, expected purely to play in the cups and warm the bench in the Premier League. However, injuries to Ederson have meant that 12 of Ortega’s 34 appearances for City to date have come in league play, with a further five outings in the Champions League.

And Ortega has done anything but disgrace himself in a City shirt, with the Hofgeismar native already keeping 17 clean sheets across all competitions.

Comparing Ederson and Ortega’s stats across Premier League and Champions League play makes for very pleasant reading for the German, who has averaged 2.79 saves per 90 minutes across those two competitions since joining Man City, compared to 1.67 from his Brazilian counterpart in the same time frame.

Ederson, meanwhile, comes in at 0.29 goals conceded per 90 compared to 0.1 for Ortega, who has made 1.9 saves from shots inside the box per 90 to Ederson’s 1.1.

Of course, Ederson’s primary function for Pep Guardiola is to act as the first line of creativity, starting attacks with his expert vision and passing range, which are among the very best in the world of goalkeeping. However, it has to be noted that Ortega has completed 31.33 passes per 90 minutes in the Premier League and Champions League for City, with Ederson coming in at 29.99 during the same period. Ortega also comes out narrowly on top for long passes completed at 5.99 – 5.79, but it’s Ederson’s ability to find teammates in the final third that is unmatched, with the Brazilian at 1.04 completed final third passes per 90 compared to just 0.3 from Ortega.

Nevertheless, Ortega has built a strong statistical case to become the next Man City No.1 and Guardiola himself was eager to sing his praises last season.

“He’s done that since he arrived,” the Spaniard said after some vital Ortega interventions in a 2-0 win over Tottenham in May as the title race dashed toward the final day. “When we arrived, we saw the standard of keeper that he is. We know that.

“He makes incredible, incredible saves many, many times. In that moment, one or two actions, because they are so fast, Kulusevski, Maddison, with Johnson, Son. Fantastic players. The runners with the ball. They have a lot of weapons, speed behind the defenders. An exceptional team. We knew we had to suffer. We give us a life, a few more days until the last game of the season at home.”

Man City captain Kyle Walker was even more complimentary of Ortega, who he compared to fellow German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer; arguably the best-ever modern stopper.

“Stefan has got that spread, hasn’t he. He reminds me of Neuer, the German goalkeepers have got that spreading,” said Walker. “I think Manuel’s (Akanji) been fantastic all night, but it’s just as a defender, it’s sod’s law. One mistake and it can end up in the goal. He’s got that spread where’s got down and the big calf has come into play.”

Ortega was never really meant to be the Manchester City No.1 but it appears the stars may just be aligning to give him a shot at the dream job.