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Donnarumma to Man Utd: Ruben Amorim’s most important signing
Analysis
Man Utd have been linked with the signing of Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Gianluigi Donnarumma's time at PSG is coming to an end, and his destination could well be in the Premier League with Man Utd.
The Red Devils have already spent over €200 million this summer securing Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, but Donnarumma would top them all for importance.
Current ETV
Gianluigi Donnarumma
GK
PSG
Gianluigi Donnarumma
GK
PSG
ETV Range
€21.4M - €26.2M
Those three forwards are all talented, but Sesko is a young prospect while Cunha and Mbeumo have only gained domestic prominence in England rather than sort of international acclaim.
Donnarumma, however, is one of the world's very biggest names in goalkeeping, both literally (he stands 6'5 and his broad shoulders make him seem much bigger than that) and figuratively, with a 10-character surname and world-class reputation having been a key part of Italy's triumph at Euro 2020 as well as PSG finally lifting the Champions League last year.
United haven't had a player with that kind of stature since Zlatan Ibrahimovic (again, literally and figuratively) or Paul Pogba prior to all his troubles.
What's more, they really need a goalkeeper.
Man Utd really need Donnarumma
For all the talk of Man Utd spending €100 million or more on Carlos Baleba, the opening Premier League fixture against Arsenal showed that they can muddle through this season with Casemiro in midfield.
The Brazilian was resplendent, dominating Arsenal's Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice with a powerful display. He tired after an hour, sure, so United do need to think of a solution for that last 30 minutes of matches, but given they are mostly playing just once a week this season, Casemiro's last at the club, they need a midfielder.
Goalkeeper, however?
Well just look at the Arsenal game again. Man Utd were the better side, created more chances and better quality chances. Arsenal never really got that many open looks at the United goal while the Red Devils had several and could have scored at least once.
Arsenal won 1-0 though, because when they sent a corner into a dangerous area Altay Bayindir failed to establish his presence and got bullied by William Saliba. Instead of punching clear, Altay merely palmed the ball into the path of Riccardo Calafiori who simply nodded the ball into the back of the net.
Could a foul have been given? Maybe. But when you look second-half as United fizzed in an almost identical corner, David Raya in the Arsenal net established his space and then commandingly punched the ball clear. He wasn't bullied like Altay was.
One game played, one goalkeeping error already leading to defeat.
Andre Onana: a legendary disaster
And this after last season where Andre Onana did the same thing (well, close enough) in the Europa League final against Spurs.
Current ETV
André Onana
GK
Man Utd
André Onana
GK
Man Utd
ETV Range
€24.8M - €30.3M
Admittedly, United didn't really play well in that game (unlike against Arsenal) but they were less bad than Spurs. However they lost the game because Andre Onana jumped in slow motion over Brennan Johnson's... well, you couldn't really call it a shot, but he did touch the ball last. It should have been an easy grab but Onana reacted like he was lag spiking on FIFA and did nothing before jumping around the ball when it was too late.
That was the cap to a season where Onana debased himself on a near weekly basis. He had about as much presence as a soggy biscuit and his propensity to let the tamest or most saveable of shots in crippled United's ability to do anything, really.
Man Utd conceded just 411 shots last season and 145 shots on target, both the 5th best totals in the Premier League. They conceded 52 goals, however, which is the 11th most in the league. That disparity is absurd.
You can't play good football (whatever the style) if you can't trust your goalkeeper. It makes every defensive phase so much more frantic as player scramble to stop shots from even occuring as they have no faith their goalkeeper can handle them.
Ruben Amorim's most important signing
So signing Gianluigi Donnarumma, one of the most mountainous goalkeepers around with an immense reputation and presence, would be transformative for Man Utd.
Hell you could have kept the entire team the exact same as 2024/25, and with just Ruben Amorim having more coaching time and Donnarumma replacing Onana, United would have been significantly better. Couple him with the new forwards? United might actually be good this season!
Should Man Utd sign Donnarumma, there would no doubt be much consternation over his wages (said to be around an eye-watering €200,000 a week) but at some point, you get what you pay for. And if you want a world-class goalkeeper, you need to pay for one.
Of course Donnarumma isn't excellent with his feet (PSG's official reason for replacing him with Lucas Chevalier) but Ruben Amorim doesn't need his goalkeeper to be Manuel Neuer or Ederson with the ball, he needs solid shot-stopping and presence.
Donnarumma provides that at a high-level. He also comes with a tremendous experience of winning things and carries with him a physical stature that would inspire confidence throughout the Man Utd defence.
Ruben Amorim clearly has good ideas but lacks players who can execute them. In time this should be solved by coaching and the new arrivals in attack who can actually score goals (allegedly, anyway) but it would all be for nothing if the goalie kept on being as watertight as a sieve.
Donnarumma would provide that watertightness. He's not perfect, no one is, but he would be such a galactic upgrade on Onana that it would be impossible for United to not at least accidentally get better just by virtue of his presence.
He would be the most important signing Ruben Amorim could hope to make.
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