Ruben Amorim has enjoyed a fruitful first summer transfer window with Manchester United, bolstering his strikeforce substantially, but doubts remain at the other end of the pitch
Michael Owen believes Manchester United should be pulling out all the stops to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Italian goalkeeper has impressed with Paris Saint-Germain over the last four years, but it appears as though his stint in the French capital is drawing to a close.
Donnarumma has entered the final year of his contract at the Parc des Princes and is on the hunt for a new club after Les Parisiens enlisted the help of Lucas Chevalier and deemed him surplus to requirements. Ruben Amorim has had a largely successful maiden summer transfer window with the Red Devils, bringing in the likes of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko.
However, Owen believes they should be looking at strengthening the club’s options at the other end of the pitch, especially considering that Donnarumma is looking for a move. Speaking exclusively to Mirror Football via 247Bet about the shot-stopper, Owen said: “Well, when it all came out about Donnarumma leaving Paris Saint-Germain, I thought, ‘Oh my word, whoever gets him are going to be a lucky team.
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“I mean, he is unbelievable. He’s literally one of, if not the best goalkeeper in the world. I mean, he would be the obvious one, but whether they can get him or not is another matter.”
At present, United have been forced to deploy Altay Bayindir between the sticks as a result of first-choice keeper, Andre Onana, recovering from injury and lacking match sharpness. However, many fans will believe that the club need to replace Onana permanently if they hope to improve on last season’s dismal 15th-place Premier League finish.
The Cameroonian has failed to live up to his £47.2million price tag since arriving at Old Trafford from Inter Milan two years ago, and has been lambasted for making a number of high-profile mistakes. While Donnarumma is a viable option at present, given that PSG are reportedly only asking for £40m for the 26-year-old, United will face stiff competition in getting a deal over the line.
Local rivals Manchester City are currently at risk of losing Ederson to Galatasaray, and despite snapping up James Trafford in a £27m move earlier this summer, the youngster may need a little more time to develop before he is a solidified starter.
As a result, the Cityzens are said to be interested in bringing Donnarumma to the Etihad Stadium ahead of deadline day, and talks are said to have commenced with the European champions. However, a reluctance to pay PSG’s asking price could leave the door open to a hijacking of the keeper by their neighbours.
With a quartet of Ligue 1 titles, five domestic cups and a Champions League to his name in the French capital, Donnarumma would likely walk straight into the starting XI under Pep Guardiola or Amorim. He also conceded just 25 goals in the league last season and kept five clean sheets.
However, Owen has also highlighted other areas in which United would be wise to focus on improving should they have any hopes of working their way back to dominance in the Premier League. He added: “Well, I mean, there are areas where they could strengthen.
“If they want to go and be a top team again and challenge for the league, then there’s loads of areas. But just to get back into that sort of European places, then they’ve probably got a strong enough squad.
“The goalkeeper looks quite an obvious one that they might need to change at some point. They’ve not done much surgery to their team apart from right up at the top of the field. So, you know, they’ve got one or two ageing players in midfield that are going to need changing in time.
“They’ve got a lot of defenders at the moment, whether they’ve got many great ones is a question mark. But I think over time they’re going to need to change a fair few players, but just to get them back up in fifth, sixth place type of thing this season, I think they’ve got more than enough to do that.”
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Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
