From Bravo To Donnarumma: Manchester City’s Goalkeeping Evolution Under Guardiola | John Brewin

Signing a goalkeeper pinch a estimation arsenic lofty arsenic Gianluigi Donnarumma would usually registry arsenic a powerful connection of intent but Manchester City’s summation of Italy’s Euro 2020 hero, nan keeper whose saves guided Paris Saint-Germain to a first Champions League past season, has been met pinch a alternatively mixed reaction.

City’s troubled start to nan play adds confusion, truthful excessively Pep Guardiola’s lawsuit history pinch goalkeepers. Ederson was beloved by City fans for being a maverick and played a cardinal domiciled successful nan team’s serial title wins. Just 32, comparatively young for players successful his position, a dalliance pinch a move to Saudi Arabia past twelvemonth and nan liking of Fenerbahce – nan nine he has joined – hastened his exit.

That Stefan Ortega, a lesser keeper, was turned to past play by Guardiola suggested terminal frustrations from personification for whom Ederson’s operation of ball-playing expertise and acrobatic saves was erstwhile ideal. James Trafford’s summertime return to City from Burnley for a not inconsiderable interest of £27m besides foretold nan Brazilian’s exit. Trafford’s struggles truthful far, in defeats to Tottenham and Brighton, look to person forced City’s manus into doing a woody because it could beryllium done alternatively than it making complete sense.

Manchester United are understood to person been a competitor for Donnarumma’s signature, moreover a favoured destination. Instead, to meet their ain keeping problem, they person signed Belgium’s Senne Lammens. The demands of Donnarumma’s representatives, led by Enzo Raiola, who took his relative Mino Raiola’s customer database erstwhile nan ace supplier died successful 2022, were beyond nan costs limits United were prepared to spell to. The aforesaid went for Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martínez.

In a reverse of United stealing successful to onshore Alexis Sánchez successful 2018, aliases United returning for Cristiano Ronaldo successful 2021 erstwhile he seemed group for Eastlands, City snapped up a goalkeeper whose precocious wages nary longer fitted nan PSG building either. Hugo Viana is nan sporting head astatine City now, Txiki Begiristain, truthful agelong Guardiola’s guiding hand, having stepped down, and nan club’s business has taken connected a different hue. Guardiola has truthful acold struggled to assimilate nan 4 signings made successful January, fto unsocial nan 7 players coming successful this summer, including 3 goalkeepers, Marcus Bettinelli completing nan trio.

The mobility is whether Donnarumma was bought for nine aliases manager; Guardiola’s semipermanent early is nebulous contempt his statement hold to 2027, a summertime question and reply pinch GQ mag making mention of his fatigue and nan dense pressures of nan City job.

Pep Guardiola’s goalkeeper predicament began erstwhile he first joined Manchester City, opting to driblet Joe Hart for Willy Caballero. Photograph: John Sibley/Reuters

Roll backmost to 2016, nan summertime of Guardiola’s arrival, and almost his first move was to switch nan celebrated Joe Hart pinch nan ill-fated Claudio Bravo, nan Chilean bought from Barcelona and whose ball-playing expertise was favoured complete nan past England No 1’s chest-beating heroism and reflex saves. The Bravo experiment, which grounded erstwhile he appeared incapable to make regularisation saves, was discontinued. Willy Caballero, a veteran, played alternatively of Hart, who was loaned to Torino and subsequently mislaid his measurement until a late-career revival astatine Celtic.

The doubts connected Donnarumma centre connected his deficiency of ball-playing ability, a facet truthful important to Guardiola. Statistics show he was obscurity adjacent arsenic progressive successful his team’s buildups past play as, for example, David Raya astatine Arsenal aliases Alisson astatine Liverpool, nan second nan golden standard, pairing accepted save-making pinch contributions to wide play. Alisson averaged 31.7 passes per 90 minutes successful nan Premier League, compared to Donnarumma, 23.4 successful Ligue 1, pinch an mean of six agelong passes from nan Italian to Ederson’s 9.4. At PSG, Luis Enrique, Guardiola’s erstwhile teammate, of a akin philosophy, has been happy to forge connected pinch Lucas Chevalier, signed from Lille, different modish hybrid of keeper/playmaker.

What person seemed since Hart’s demise to beryllium nan non-negotiables of immoderate goalkeeper playing for Guardiola are apt to beryllium bucked by nan caller arrival. Perhaps it signals a alteration successful attack from a coach unafraid to innovate, who has talked astir nan much physical, fierce crippled his teams must now woody with.

Despite immoderate downturns, Donnarumma has proved himself a superb goalkeeper successful nan accepted sense, astatine 26, pinch overmuch up of him. Though Guardiola, possibly his clip astatine Barcelona pinch Lionel Messi aside, has ever bent teams to his own, exacting specifications alternatively than prima players.