‘Wow’ – Man City have agreed ‘brilliant swap deal’
Manchester City have agreed a “brilliant swap” after replacing Ederson with Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Man City confirmed the signing of Donnarumma on 2 September, having agreed a £26million deal with PSG.
Pep Guardiola was able to add the 26-year-old to his goalkeeping options after Ederson finalised a move to Fenerbahce, with the Turkish club paying around £12million.
Football Insider revealed on 2 September Donnarumma will replace James Trafford as first-choice goalkeeper following his arrival at the Etihad Stadium.
Trafford started for Man City in their first three Premier League games of the new campaign, having rejoined the club from Burnley in July.
Gianluigi Donnarumma has agreed ‘enormous’ Man City deal
This article contains exclusive comment from Stefan Borson, a former financial adviser to Man City.
Donnarumma, who previously spent four years with PSG, has signed a five-year deal at the Etihad.
Meanwhile, Ederson leaves Man City eight years after joining the club from Benfica.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson said: “I think Donnarumma’s wages are enormous.
“But then again, Ederson’s wages were pretty big as well, so I don’t think that’s a particular change.
“If you would have said to City fans at the end of last season, Ederson’s time is over and City are going to sign Donnarumma, aside from the question marks over style, I think everybody would have said ‘Wow, that’s a brilliant swap’ and take that all day long.
“I think most people would say he’s in the top three goalkeepers in the world. He’s won everything and is a big character. Obviously, it’s key that he can be motivated, he’s an amazing age for a goalkeeper if it works.
“If it works, he can be at City for 10 years, so I think overall the deal makes a lot of sense if the footballing side of stuff can be fixed.
“There’s so much flux at City anyway in terms of how they play. You can just stick this one into the mix of problems they’ve got to solve, which might be a bad thing, of course, because it may be that it’s just too many problems.
“I think we will see pretty quickly this season. It’s a very expensive deal, but then all these deals are very expensive.
“That’s just football in 2025.”
Man City to ask questions of Pep Guardiola
Recruitment expert Mick Brown told Football Insider Man City will be asking questions of Guardiola following his side’s difficult start to the new season.
The Manchester giants beat Wolves 4-0 on the opening day of the campaign.
However, they have since lost back-to-back matches against Tottenham and Brighton, leaving them trailing reigning champions Liverpool by six points.
For more Man City and exclusive news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.