FPL New Signing Sessions: What can we expect from Donnarumma in City?

Manchester City has completed the signature of £ 26 million Gianluigi Donnarumma (£ 5.5 million) by Paris Saint-Germain.

The movement of the Italian keeper comes after the departure of the former no. 1 Ederson from Man City to Fenerbahce for £ 12 million.

Donnarumma is the second keeper to arrive in the Etihad Stadium after signing James Trafford (£ 5.0 million) from Burnley in July, while Stefan Ortega (£ 4.9 million) and Marcus Bettinelli (£ 4.0 million) are also part of the team of the first team.

In this reconnaissance report we rate the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Appeal or Donnarumma.

The move in quotes

‘I always trained well and I couldn’t wait to become a member of the city because they really wanted me. The coach really wanted me, and that made me proud. Being so strongly searched by the best club in the world makes me proud, but also very emotional and happy. ” – Gianluigi Donnarumma

“If you are sought so strongly by a club as a city, this means that you have worked well. Being sought by one of the strongest coaches in the world such as Guardiola is an indescribable emotion.“
– Gianluigi Donnarumma

HISTORY

Although still only 26, Donnarumma has been playing football at the highest level for ten years. He became the third-jongest keeper who once debuted in the Serie A, when he turned out to be before AC Milan in October 2015 of 16 years and 242 days. He immediately settled in the first team and stayed like this for six seasons, and earned comparisons for his calm atmosphere of authority, positioning and shot -saving skills with his youth hero Gianluigi Buffon.

Indeed, he followed Buffon’s footsteps by becoming the youngest keeper who plays for the Italian national team of 17 years and 189 days. He came into his own when he helped the Azzurri to win the European Championship 2020, with shooting in the semi -final against Spain and the final against England and was named player of the tournament for his penalty -saving heroic deeds.

Donnarumma left Milan that summer (2021) to join Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer that did not go well with Rossoneri fans, who questioned his so-called love for the club he had supported as a boy. When the two teams met, exactly eight years after his series A debut, he was overloaded with fake money and taunted of ‘Dollarumma’.

His performance was more recognized by the viewing world and in 2021 he won the Lev Yashin trophy for the best goalkeeper of the year. Donnarumma won four consecutive Ligue 1 trophies in a shimmering four years at PSG, his only blip came when he was initially dropped by the new coach Luis Enrique, who interviewed his power with his feet. But the Italy -International soon won its place and gave a series of sensational versions to win the Champions League for the first time.

Playing style

Donnarumma is generally considered one of the best keepers in the world. He is elite in terms of pure shot stop. His positioning is first -class and his 6ft 5 in frame, connected to feline reflexes, enables him to take photos that ordinary keepers cannot.

Although he can be suspicious of crosses and high balls, where he does not completely recommend his area like someone of his form, he is brave and will put his neck on the line to dive into a striker in one-on-one situations. This courage ran at a prize last December when he sustained a facial plantation in a collision with Monaco’s Wilfried Singo who left him with a permanent scar. Occasionally they are opposing players who come to worse, as happened with Jamal Musiala, whose leg was broken in an honest but unfortunate challenge with the Italian during the Club World Cup this summer.

Donnarumma has also forged a reputation as a fine-saving specialist. The 26-year-old has made 14 spot-kick rescues in top football, and that can be counted without fine-shoot-outs. The resident of Naples thrives in such a high-voltage scenarios, which shine memorable on Euro 2020, but also in last season’s Champions League when his heroic deeds helped to eliminate Liverpool in the round of 16. Donnarumma was exceptional in the second stage at Anfield. The Gunners were the only side that performed better than the Parisiens on expected goals (XG) in the knockout phase, but could not find a way along the inexplicable Italian, who made five rescues of five shots on goal.

Graphic courtesy of Fbref

So if he is so good, why does PSG let him go? At 26 he is not yet in his prime, he has at least another decade of the first team for him and is a wonderful guy in the dressing room in all respects. Luis Enrique has said that he is looking for a different type, and the suspicion is that the Spaniard was never completely sold about Donnarumma’s ability to faint from the back. Apart from crossing, this is the only other real chin in the armor of the Italian.

“The decision has to do with the profile of the goalkeeper. It was not an easy decision, but I take full responsibility for it.” – Luis Enrique when moving Donnarumma

Indeed, as athletics recently demonstrated, Donnarumma does not have the same distribution voting that made his Brazilian predecessor so loved by Guardiola.

Graphic courtesy of Athletics

City’s New No. 1

The fascinating aspect of this signing is that, although excellent, Donnarumma does not fit in the profile of goalkeeper Pep Guardiola has hurt in the past to recruit. Joe Hart and then Claudio Bravo were both bombarded from the city because of the failure standards of the Spaniard. He has always insisted that his keepers take risks by fainting from the back.

As the image above shows, Numornerson excelled in playing longer balls and steeped in the opposition press, while Donnarumma is more comfortable to play shorter passes.

With City who started under Guardiola to their worst start ever of the season, some believe that once he sacrifices his philosophy to the altar of pragmatism to just have an elite keeper who is a remarkable savior maker. Perhaps he is tired of seeing his teams punished for the counterattack because there is no wonder worker between the sticks to dig them out of trouble. Perhaps he has seen enough of Trafford to believe that he is not yet ready to be a title out of no. 1. It is certainly true that the international of England under the age of 21 has made expensive mistakes with his death this season and is not entirely convinced.

It is more likely that Pep, instead of throwing his football credo in the bowl, has decided to adjust his system by not allowing itself to go long. Guardiola probably considers Donnarumma to pass well enough at Kort to play from the back through his ball -playing defenders. It was good enough for PSG to win the Champions League.

Anyway, Guardiola cannot have bought Donnarumma to put him on the couch. In a World Cup year, the Azzurri captain has to play regularly, especially because it sounds remarkable, he still has to play in a world cup. Guarantees will be made. The Italian will play.

The FPL prospects

So the next question is, is Donnarumma worth buying? For £ 5.5 million it is not cheap, but if the city starts to find a form again, clean sheets will certainly follow for Donnarumma. City has not had much of a preseason because of their club world compulsory obligations, so they still have to find their sea breaches.

Rod (£ 6.4 million) has just returned to the team and connections with newcomers such as Tijjani Reijnders (£ 5.7 million) Time takes time to transform. The attacking style of the city is such that they probably always admit opportunities, but that will also increase the prospect that Donnarumma yields storage points.

The luminaires are still quite difficult for City, so the best advice is to have a look at the next two or three game week. But once they have negotiated the Manchester Derby and the journey to Arsenal, the schedule is illuminated, and by that time, with some managers who even consider using a free hit or a wildcard, we may have seen enough to put trust in the excellent Donnarumma of the city. That said, we must see the improvement of the backline of the city before we splash the big money on Donnarumma.