Manchester United transfer news: Who is Eder Militao? The Brazilian defender who is being chased by Europe’s biggest clubs with Liverpool and Real Madrid interested too

Manchester United, Liverpool and Real Madrid are all reportedly ready to battle it out for Brazil defender Eder Militao.

The 20-year-old is currently playing his football at Porto and is very highly rated but they would be powerless to stop him leaving if a club came in with a high enough bid.

Militao reportedly has a £42.5million release clause in the contract he signed just last year.

Here is all you need to know about the defender:

Where did Porto sign him from?

Militao is a product of the Sao Paulo academy that has produced talents such as Kaka, Cafu and Oscar.

He made 37 appearances for the Brazilian giants before switching to a European team.

Portuguese club Porto paid just €4million for the defender in the summer on a five-year contract.

Could anyone else have signed him?

The Sun report that Manchester United had the chance to sign him in the summer but Jose Mourinho was not interested.

Getting a work permit could have been an issue because he had not yet played an international match but that would not be a problem now.

Mourinho wanted to sign Diogo Dalot instead of the Brazilian and United paid £19million for him.

Why is he so highly rated?

His size and speed is what people most admire about him. Even though his has played most of his short career at right-back, his height (6ft 1in) mean a lot believe he can make the move to centre-back permanently.

Porto have started to utilise him in the middle of the defence and this has seen him flourish.

Miliato has also been likened to Pepe because of his physicality.

How has he performed in his first season at Porto?

He has certainly caught the attention of many of the European elite with his displays at both league and Champions League level.

Militao is currently in the WhoScored Primeira Liga team of the season with an average rating of 7.5/10 in a Porto side that tops the division.

He also featured in five of their Champions League matches and scored in one. It has also led to a call up to the Brazil team and made his debut in September 2018 against El Salvador.

Who is trying to sign Eder Militao?

Real Madrid, Manchester United and Liverpool appear to be the ones keen on signing him.

Porto, on the other hand, are desperately hoping he will sign a new contract soon, even though he has four and a half year left on his current deal.

They may be resigned to losing him at some point in the near future but the release clause of £42.5million could see him go for less than his true value.