In the event that Ederson Moraes departs the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City seemingly have one goalkeeper in mind who could replace him.
On Sunday, it was reported that Al-Ittihad have made an approach to sign Ederson.
It was claimed by journalist Ben Jacobs on Friday that Al-Nassr’s signing of Bento means they are not set to bid for the Manchester City number one.
However, Jacobs revealed that due to Al-Ittihad’s interest in Kepa Arrizabalaga dwindling away, they could make Ederson their number one target.
Man City have taken a step to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma in case Ederson leaves
Earlier this month, Fabrizio Romano reported that Stefan Ortega would be in line to become City’s number one if the Brazilian left the club.
However, it seems like the Sky Blues are keeping their options open in the goalkeeping position.
For the time being, their number 31 is a part of their travelling squad for their pre-season tour to the US, as shared by journalist Simon Bajkowski.
However, in case Ederson departs the club this summer, Ben Jacobs has disclosed that Manchester City have “approached” Gianluigi Donnarumma as his potential successor.
The Italian captain — branded as “incredible” by Joe Hart via Sky Sports — is believed to be “happy” at Paris Saint-Germain as he is in the “early stages” of extending his contract beyond 2026.
But the 25-year-old is known to be “interested” in playing in the Premier League someday in his career.
Man City should trust Stefan Ortega over Gianluigi Donnarumma
If Ederson does leave the club, Manchester City should simply keep the faith in Ortega as his long-term replacement rather than signing Donnarumma.
The PSG number one has been quite error-prone in recent years — as exemplified by his decision not to rush out of his box in his side’s 3-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League last season — gifting Andreas Christensen a free header from a corner.
In possession, Donnarumma lacks the expansive passing range of a modern-day goalkeeper and can often be caught out with the ball at his feet. For instance, while Karim Benzema might potentially have fouled the former AC Milan prodigy in the Champions League during the second leg of the Round of 16, he dilly-dallied in possession for far too long and ultimately let Real Madrid open the scoring.
Ortega, unlike Donnarumma is a superior passer, calm in possession and an adept shotstopper as well.
Unlike the latter, the German is also accustomed to Pep Guardiola’s demands — further strengthening the case for why he should replace Ederson if he leaves Manchester City over the Euro 2020 winner.
