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The New Signings that will define the Manchester Derby
Analysis
The season's first Manchester Derby is coming up this weekend.
Man Utd and Man City will meet for the 197th time on Sunday and both clubs come into the match with a lot to prove after rocky starts to the Premier League season.
Not only have both clubs started the season in rocky form, but they both head into this derby with plenty of new signings eager to make an impact.
Current ETV
Tijjani Reijnders
M, DM (C)
Man City
Tijjani Reijnders
M, DM (C)
Man City
ETV Range
€57M - €69.7M
And while Matheus Cunha or Tijjani Reijnders or Bryan Mbeumo may be the names that spring to mind as big time talents who will surely help shape the game, they won't be the most decisive figures on Sunday.
No, the four new signings who will define Sunday's Manchester Derby are the following:
Gianluigi Donnarumma
It's rare that one of the best players in the world at their position joins the Premier League from abroad, rarer still for it to be done to as little fanfare as Gianluigi Donnarumma's move to Man City got.
And that's understandable. Donnarumma is a divisive figure whose weaknesses in possession make him a horrible fit with the way Pep Guardiola wants Man City to play.
Yet and still Guardiola approved of his signing, even though the club had already signed James Trafford to be their new goalkeeper (and he hadn't done too badly to start).
Why? Because Donnarumma is a monster. He's far from a perfect goalkeeper and can look incredibly poor, just as Italy after he dropped a disasterclass that almost saw them suffer the indignity of losing to Israel, but he is, in general, clutch.
In the biggest moments of his career, Donnarumma has to this point been lights out. Take the knockout rounds of Euro 2020, including penalty shoot-out wins over Spain and England in the semi-final and final. Then there's PSG's run to win the Champions League last season where he was massive against Liverpool (another shoot-out win) and especially Arsenal to see his side prevail.
Current ETV
Gianluigi Donnarumma
GK
Man City
Gianluigi Donnarumma
GK
Man City
ETV Range
€21.4M - €26.2M
Man City have a general problem in defence where they just crumble under the slightest bit of pressure. When the going gets tough the Man City defence sits in a corner and cries. Having someone like Donnarumma back there barking orders and generally being a monstrously huge presence should go a long way to restoring some sense of City solidity.
Man Utd have made a habit of dunking on Man City goalkeepers, be that Ederson or Stefan Ortega, while Donnarumma's enormous presence could prove to unnerve that young attack. Imagine breaking past the City back-line only to see 10 foot of balding Italian stepping out to greet you?
Benjamin Sesko
Speaking of scoring... Man Utd's star striker signing Benjamin Sesko has yet to make any sort of mark on the team. He's come off the bench three times and looked pretty poor when he has, and during the penalty shoot-out against Grimsby he went 10th, after all his outfield team-mates!
Current ETV
Benjamin Sesko
F (C)
Man Utd
Benjamin Sesko
F (C)
Man Utd
ETV Range
€68.1M - €83.2M
But Man Utd will need him to be on it against City, especially given how ridiculously porous the centre of City's defence has been and is likely to be in the derby given their growing injury list.
Obviously Cunha and Mbeumo are important but it is Sesko, the 6'5 striker, who will be tasked with charging at, into and beyond the City centre-backs. Thanks to his speed and movement (and City's awfulness) Sesko will be the recipient of chances, certainly at least one 1-v-1 if previous matches are to go by.
STATS
Benjamin Sesko
F (C)
Man Utd
Benjamin Sesko
F (C)
Man Utd
The question is can he take them? If he can, Man Utd may have a genuine chance to win this game. If he is wasteful, then you can imagine this match proceeding just like every other Man Utd match where they miss chances and then concede a dumb goal.
Senne Lammens
This brings us to Man Utd's other most important new signing: Senne Lammens. The Belgian goalkeeper was a last minute arrival at Old Trafford despite it being painfully obvious all of last season that United needed a goalkeeper due to the disastrous double act of Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir.
It cannot be emphasised how bad United's goalkeepers were. Onana handed Spurs the Europa League with his hideous goalkeeping (Man Utd were the better team in that game) and Bayindir handed Arsenal the win on opening weekend of the Premier League with his soft a silk goalkeeping from set-pieces, something every club United have faced since has tried to exploit.
Current ETV
Senne Lammens
GK
Man Utd
Senne Lammens
GK
Man Utd
ETV Range
€9.8M - €12M
Senne Lammens could make a colossal difference in the Manchester Derby simply by not throwing the ball into his own net or get relentlessly bullied on set-pieces, which are normal things for a goalkeeper to do but would be revelatory for United.
Rayan Ait-Nouri
City have been good going forward this season. Maybe not great, but good. Where they have been weak is defensively, specifically on counter-attacks.
Now against Man Utd you could argue they don't have as much to fear given the left side of attack is Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha neither of whom look like they could hit the broadside of a barn door right now. And we've been over Sesko up the middle.
Current ETV
Rayan Aït-Nouri
D, M (L)
Man City
Rayan Aït-Nouri
D, M (L)
Man City
ETV Range
€40.9M - €50M
However the right-flank of Amad and Bryan Mbeumo is an entirely different matter. Those two are playing well, and Mbeumo is even scoring goals. Defending them is going to be key for City, which is why Rayan Ait-Nouri is so important.
The Algerian may be carrying a knock but he's likely to be the starting left-back in the derby and as such the way he tracks back to cover the Amad and Mbeumo dovetails will be key.
If Ait-Nouri can set the tone early on in the match then he could set the terms and force the United pair to play passively. However if they get at him then their confidence will rise and he could end up overwhelmed.
And if Ait-Nouri is getting overwhelmed and overrun it could be very bad news for City as the only functional part of the Man Utd attack gets going and rips City apart.
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Premier League
Man City
Man Utd
Benjamin Sesko
Gianluigi Donnarumma
Rayan Aït-Nouri
Senne Lammens
