Manchester City won the race for Gianluigi Donnarumma and he made a winning debut against Manchester United, while Peter Schmeichel admits he failed to convince the keeper to move to Old Trafford
Peter Schmeichel admits he tried and failed to get Gianluigi Donnarumma to join Manchester United this summer after the new Manchester City goalkeeper enjoyed a winning debut in the Manchester derby.
Pep Guardiola swooped on deadline day to sign the Champions League winner from PSG, after it became clear he’d fallen out of favour in Paris. Just months after playing a crucial role in the European Cup success, the Italian is now set to establish himself as Guardiola’s No. 1 at the Etihad.
He made his debut with a clean sheet as City made light work of their neighbours, securing a 3-0 win on Sunday afternoon.
Donnarumma himself was heavily linked with a move to the Red Devils before those at the Etihad came to the party. The Italian underlined his value with a stellar save in the second half, expertly palming a Bryan Mbeumo volley round the post while it was still 2-0.
Schmeichel admits he’d held discussions with Donnarumma in the past and told him to head to the red side of Manchester – only to see him turn to the blue half.
He told Premier League Productions: “Donnarumma plays his first game and all the time he’s doing that, talking to them, so they’ve brought in more leadership. I’ve followed them [PSG] in the Champions League and I’ve spoken to him a lot of times, he speaks English by the way.
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“I only managed to persuade him to come into an interview one time, we headed back to the studio, I asked my first question and he started to answer in Italian, and I had no clue! Over the last season I kept saying to him, ‘We want you at Man United,’ and he said, ‘I’d love to come to England.'”
The presenter joked that he had failed in his attempts to be a successful agent as the Dane replied: “I did. So I went to him, ‘What are you doing here, you should be in the other goal [for United],’ but he said, ‘I’m very, very happy here.’ He showed it, he gave it to the team today, didn’t he.”
Donnarumma has come straight in and dislodged James Trafford, who was signed from Burnley and had been the new starter for the first three games. That motivated Ederson to move on, with the legendary Brazilian joining Fenerbahce.
United’s goalkeeping situation has massively changed over the summer with Senne Lammens coming in on deadline day. The Belgian is somewhat of an unknown quantity and he’ll now battle Altay Bayindir for the No. 1 spot after Andre Onana made a surprise loan move to Turkey.
Ruben Amorim backed his departure as he said: “Sometimes things are not working in some environments, some moments.
“I think we, as a club, and Andre felt it was a moment to do a little change. We don’t know the future, but it was time to change Onana.”
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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 £336 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.
