How Manchester City saw off misguided Manchester United transfer strategy to £26M signing

Manchester United were interested in signing Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain this summer before the Italian moved to the Etihad Stadium on deadline day, as per a new report.

After a public falling out with Paris Saint-Germain – months after he led them to their premier UEFA Champions League title – PSG boss Luis Enrique deemed Donnarumma as surplus to requirements and signed Lucas Chevalier from Lille as his replacement.

Donnarumma sought a major pay hike on his last contract at the Parc des Princes as he entered the final 12 months of his deal, with negotiations continuing throughout the summer between the AC Milan graduate and the PSG board.

However, contract renewal talks met an impasse and Donnarumma was quickly ousted by Enrique, with the 26-year-old’s representatives subsequently conducting a thorough audit of their options amid interest from clubs across Europe.

Manchester United have held a long-standing interest in Donnarumma and are understood to have attempted to sign him last summer as a solution to their issues in goal, with a transfer failing to materialise and the Reds sticking with Andre Onana despite a horror debut season for the Cameroonian at Old Trafford.

City overhauled their goalkeeping department themselves this summer, with the Marcus Bettinelli signed from Chelsea to replace Scott Carson as third-choice goalkeeper and James Trafford returning to his boyhood club for £27 million after two impressive seasons at Burnley.

However, Manchester City identified Donnarumma as their preferred candidate to replace Ederson should the Brazilian secure his desired transfer away from England in the final weeks of the summer transfer window.

A day after Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat to Brighton on the south coast, Ederson was given permission to fly to Turkey and complete a deadline day transfer to Fenerbahce for £12.1 million, with City subsequently progressing their pursuit of Donnarumma and agreeing a £26 million fee for the Italian with PSG.

Speaking on his YouTube channel this week, transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Manchester United had a chance to sign Donnarumma much earlier in the transfer window as they sought to bolster their squad after a damaging 15th place Premier League finish in the previous campaign.

Romano revealed that United considered Donnarumma and initiated contact with goalkeeper’s entourage in July. However, despite a €30 million asking price tabled by PSG for their out-of-favour star, Old Trafford officials did not want to match the now-Manchester City star’s salary demands owing to Financial Fair Play and internal salary structure reasons.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure in 2013, Manchester United’s inept transfer strategy continues to outdo itself every passing summer and regardless of the club’s hierarchal structure, Old Trafford officials deserve to be commended for finding creative avenues to reckless, misguided financial decisions in the transfer market.

United’s loss has well and truly been Manchester City’s gain and after years of United suffering owing to signing players City deemed were too expensive or not worth the price on offer, City’s last-minute punt on Donnarumma seems like their best decision in the transfer market for years.