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City Transfer Target Evaluation — Part 1

By Taras Tataryn

Bravo has proven he can't be City's No. 1
Bravo has proven he can't be City's No. 1 /
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Gianluigi Donnarumma: A.C. Milan (Italy international)

Rating: 9.5/10

Likelihood: 2/5

Donnarumma looks to be the real deal. An expensive one though…
Donnarumma looks to be the real deal. An expensive one though… /

Evaluation: 

Being dubbed the “Next Buffon” comes at a price. Unfortunately, that price is so high it would be over 3 times as much as we paid for David Silva, arguably one of the best City players of all time. Yes, A.C. Milan is setting Donnarumma’s price tag in excess of €100 million. Do we know this for a fact? No. Either way, we do know the transfer of the mammoth of a goalkeeper in Donnarumma will be way too expensive. That price would be already almost half of our summer transfer budget, if not more. But enough of that.

At barely 18 years of age Donnarumma has established himself as one of the best keepers in Europe. Unfortunately, he plays for Milan, but as mentioned earlier I don’t think he is going anywhere too soon. At 6’5″ he is incredibly tall with an equally as long wingspan. This all comes together to formulate a fantastic goalkeeper. If you don’t believe me, look at this compilation of great saves made by Donnarumma.

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Rating Explanation: Donnarumma could well be the next best goalkeeper in the world, and arguably is the best U-23 goalie in the world at the moment. At a young age of 18, he has tremendous upside and already has a lot of experience under his belt. The only experience missing at this point is Champions League football, which Milan won’t have, at least this next season. Europa league might be an opportunity to showcase his abilities if Milan finishes high enough.

Likelihood: Unfortunately, City aren’t about to spend 100 million euros on a goalie, and that is if Milan is willing to sell. Guardiola should use that spending money on full-backs and a center back perhaps, rather than going on a spending spree for one player.

Strengths:

  • Length
  • Distribution
  • Shot-stopping

Weaknesses: 

  • Decision Making