What does Gianluigi Donnarumma’s £26m arrival mean for Manchester City?

Manchester City have completed the signing of Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain in a deal worth £26m.

The Italy captain, deemed surplus to requirements by head coach Luis Enrique despite playing a pivotal role as PSG won the Champions League for the first time last season, has signed a five-year contract after undergoing a medical in Florence, where he is currently on international duty with the Azzurri.

The transfer will be formally announced on Tuesday morning.

Donnarumma will replace Ederson as City’s first-choice goalkeeper, following the Brazil international’s departure to Fenerbahce in a deal worth £11m. Ederson, who has been unsettled since last summer, when his family favoured a move to Saudi Arabia, arrived in Istanbul on Monday night. 

Widely regarded as one of the best stoppers in the world – not least by Enrique, who hailed him as such while explaining he sought a “different goalkeeping profile”, since fulfilled by the arrival of France international Lucas Chevalier from Lille – Donnarumma leaves the Parc des Princes with a record of 56 clean sheets from 161 games. The 26-year-old’s impressive trophy haul in the French capital includes four Ligue 1 titles, two Coupe de France victories and a Champions League winner’s medal.

What will Gianluigi Donnarumma bring to Manchester City?

When Ederson replaced Claudio Bravo as City’s No 1 in the summer of 2017, a year after the Chile international displaced Joe Hart, it underlined Guardiola’s determination to deploy a goalkeeper adept at playing out from the back.

Ederson, whose eight years with City brought a host of honours including six Premier League titles, the Champions League and the Club World Cup, has fulfilled that role admirably, chalking up a Premier League record eight assists – but Donnarumma is a very different animal.

The Italian’s departure from the French capital was chiefly driven by Enrique’s desire to field a goalkeeper more accomplished with the ball at his feet. Yet whatever Donnarumma may lack in that department – and Opta stats show his passing accuracy last season was barely inferior to Ederson’s, at 85.4% to the Brazilian’s 86.3% – he makes up for with his imposing presence and outstanding shot-stopping ability.

At 6ft 5in, Donnarumma is only three inches taller than his predecessor, yet he has few peers in terms of decision-making and an ability to dominate the box. Opposing players have felt his aura of self-assurance especially keenly from 12 yards, with the Italian keeping out almost a quarter of the penalties he has faced.

Like any goalkeeper, Donnarumma is not infallible, as some high-profile domestic and European clangers last season demonstrated. But he is undeniably an upgrade on James Trafford, re-signed from Burnley this summer but now seemingly set to play a supporting role.