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Gianluigi Donnarumma has arrived at Manchester City with Ederson departing amid a changing of the guard
Gianluigi Donnarumma first caught Pep Guardiola's attention a decade ago and now the pair are together as goalkeeper and manager.
The Italy international joined Manchester City on deadline day for £26 million, with the 26-year-old replacing the departing Ederson.
Donnarumma will compete with James Trafford for the City number one jersey and his arrival has prompted plenty of conversation as to whether the former PSG man will force a change of style at the Etihad.
Ederson's ability to build play, start attacks and make use of his exceptional passing range all played a pivotal role in City's style and success. Donnarumma is a different profile of keeper, and there's a perception that the Italian is not a build from the back player.
Yet plenty believe Donnarumma is more than good enough in possession, even if the player Guardiola first spotted while watching AC Milan play Tottenham in the Audi Cup in 2025 does not possess quite the same skillset as Ederson.
“He’s capable with his feet, he’s more than capable,” said former City keeper Joe Hart of Donnarumma, speaking on Five Live. “I’ve watched him play under pressure, I’ve watched him play for Italy, I’ve watched him play the whole way up from 16-years-old.
“There’s a man, or a boy at the time, who could hold his nerve for AC Milan. All the way through, and then gone into PSG and won them their first Champions League trophy.”
"I’m a big James Trafford fan, I’m really pleased for how he’s done and him coming back to Manchester City I think is a really positive move.
“But why would you not sign Donnarumma and have him as part of your system, and someone who can win you games? He’s absolutely humongous in goal making top, top saves at the top level."
Donnarumma is certainly an elite shot stopper. Since he broke through at Milan in 2015, only two goalkeepers (Jan Oblak and Brice Samba) have prevented more goals with saves than Donnarumma, according to Opta.
And while he plays fewer line-breaking passes than many other keepers, there is a trend in the Premier League this season of keepers playing more balls into the opposition half – up to nearly 50 per cent from 40 per cent a year ago, even if the sample size is only three matches.
Indeed, perhaps the comparisons are overblown. Former City keeper Nicky Weaver, speaking to the MEN, said the Blues can be delighted to have such an imposing and impressive keeper in goal.
"I'm a huge fan of Donnarumma, but he's a different goalkeeper from Ederson," Weaver said. "So it's going to be really difficult because you're going to get compared. Is he as good as his feet with Ederson? Probably not, but there's probably no one else in the world who is.
"But as an actual goalkeeper, he's a brilliant, brilliant goalkeeper, and we've seen it many times. He won everything pretty much with PSG last year, broke English hearts in the Euros when he saved the penalties at Wembley, and is a huge goalkeeper who fills the goal, so he's a different animal to Ederson.
"He covers the goal. His shoulders are huge. He's 6’ 7". He's just a big, big man. And forget with your feet and everything, pound for pound, he is probably the best goalkeeper in the world, and I don't think too many people would disagree with that.
"Obviously, there's the whole package to consider, but top goalkeepers don't come on the market for this sort of price very often."
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