Stefan Ortega Moreno had made it exciting, but has now decided against leaving Manchester City. What does this mean for his rival Ederson?
Manchester City have taken an important step forward in their personnel planning for the new season. As the club has now officially confirmed, goalkeeper Stefan Ortega Moreno has extended his contract, which runs until 2025, until 2026 – but this could immediately create a new question mark in the squad.
In the past season, in which ManCity “only” successfully defended the Premier League title as reigning treble winners, Ortega Moreno came closer to becoming number one than at any time since signing on a free transfer in 2022. The 31-year-old even pushed regular keeper Ederson to the bench at times, even though coach Pep Guardiola emphasized afterwards that the Brazilian’s status was unchanged.
The fact that Ortega Moreno, who is also considering a premature departure for family reasons and had numerous attractive options, is staying could now give Ederson pause for thought. Rumors of a move to Saudi Arabia have recently surfaced.
And Ortega Moreno will certainly not abandon his increasingly offensive goal of replacing him as number one. He emphasized this once again in the course of the contract extension. “That’s why I signed for ManCity,” he said offensively. “I love everything here. I feel motivated and challenged every day and I’ve improved as a goalkeeper. “
Sporting director Txiki Begiristain calls Ortega Moreno “the best number 2 we’ve ever had” in the club’s press release, and the coach also made a strong case for him to stay early on. “I would be very happy if he stayed, and so would the club. We let him feel that,” Guardiola had already said in April about Ortega Moreno, but also showed understanding for his thoughts. “Everyone has their own life, their wife, their children, their wishes. “
With his spectacular save against Heung-Min Son in the penultimate league game at Tottenham Hotspur, Ortega Moreno had possibly enabled ManCity to defend their title as a wild card. However, the fact that the double did not follow in the FA Cup final against Manchester United also had to do with a coordination problem between the strong ex-Bielefeld player and defender Josko Gvardiol.
Man City also recently agreed an extension with Scott Carson. The 38-year-old will therefore remain third goalkeeper for another season
