Donnarumma, PSG’s exiled goalkeeper is set to make a move for Manchester City with Ederson already looking like his move to Turkey is set. Over the last three weeks, talks about Ederson’s move away from the Premier League giants have been going on, further intensified with the signing of James Trafford and the consequent drop to the bench for Ederson.
After matchday two, it looked like woes City faced last season aren’t over yet. Trafford looked more lost and out of place in the City goalpost. Talks with Donnarumma have been ongoing but it has been subject to Ederson’s departure.
Now with Ederson set to leave, we look at what Donnarumma brings to City and if there is going to be any significant change.
Ederson’s Strengths
Ederson’s distribution is what has underlined him as a successful goalkeeper in the world today. He has been instrumental in Pep’s system of playing from the back. Currently, he is the Premier League’s record holder for the most assists by a goalkeeper with seven assists.
This shows how good he is for all that we have known Pep for.
The Brazilian goalkeeper is PL-proven and as a regular starter for Pep, he helped the team with their 4x Premier League titles and also with the club’s Champions League victory.
Ederson’s Weaknesses
While Ederson has looked impressive, there have been inconsistencies in his performance. The most pronounced of these issues with Ederson are his injury records and shot-stopping ability. As for shot-stopping, Ederson does not do badly because he saved 51 of the 77 shots he faced last season which puts him at a 66.23% save percentage.
Golden Glove winner, David Raya of Arsenal made 86 saves in 38 appearances while joint winner Matz Sels made 168 saves. The problem is not even about if they are not making saves because even Andre Onana with a supposedly damnable season made 90 saves last season. But for the sake of numbers, we can argue that Ederson is truly weak in shot-stopping.
Is Donnarumma the Upgrade Manchester City Needs from Ederson?
We already know that Donnarumma is not the keeper you want to play from the back with. His distribution is not exactly on point and he cannot contain pressure from the opposition attack.
Donnarumma may have been in the PSG side that are current world champions but Chelsea showed us he isn’t invincible and even though he was a hero in keeping Saka, Odegaard, and other strikers from scoring Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro made it look very easy.
But here’s something shocking.
Last season, Donnarumma made 48 saves from 72 shots faced which puts his save percentage at 66.67%. He has a higher save percentage than Ederson (66.23%) only because he faced less shots.
This proves one thing and it is the fact that Donnarumma does not exactly provide the upgrade that City needs because both keepers are matched in terms of shot-stopping. If anything, the shots the keeper is facing is a direct consequence of defenders and midfielders getting cut out. It could be the reason Pep has invested in signing defenders. Out of the 9 signings Guardiola has made, three were defensive signings – Victor Reis, Khusanov, and Ait-Nouri but it still feels like the defensive issues are looming and if Ederson couldn’t fix it, we wonder how Donnarumma fixes it.
