Manchester City have made a poor start to the 2025/26 campaign, and former defender Nedum Onuoha thinks something strange has just happened at the Etihad Stadium.
There was a lot of optimism around the Citizens heading into the new season as a result of the new faces that arrived at the club, which went up a level after Tijani Reijnders helped Man City hammer Wolves 4-0 on the opening weekend of the campaign.
That has quickly disappeared thanks to back-to-back defeats against Tottenham and Brighton, which has already left Guardiola’s men six points behind Liverpool.
There were a lot of eyes on Man City to see if they would bring in any additions during the final week of the transfer window, and speaking about what’s happened at the Manchester club recently, Onuoha thinks something strange took place.
Nedum Onuoha working as a pundit at Huddersfield Town v Nottingham Forest.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Nedum Onuoha doesn’t understand the signing of Gianluigi Donnarumma
Man City completed the signing of Gianluigi Donnarumma on deadline day as the Italian was required to replace Ederson, who departed the Premier League club to start a new chapter in his career with Fenerbahce in Turkey.
Many have questioned Guardiola’s decision to sign Donnarumma, as the Italian has poor ball-playing skills and is not great at dealing with crosses, which are essential to the legendary coach’s style and to play in the Premier League.
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Onuoha is another who questions the signing of the 26-year-old, with the former Man City star labelling the transfer as “strange”.
“It is a strange one, to be honest. I think it is more so, and I can’t speak for every Man City fan, but I think the interesting thing is you see Donnarumma get released by PSG, and you hear it’s to do with the style of play that he has,” Onuoha said on ESPN FC when asked about the signing of Donnarumma.
“Here you have a coach in Luis Enrique who you feel is very similar to Pep Guardiola, and the style of play is a big deal for them because that dictates how they put forward a plan for the team to be successful, and they wanted to move in a different direction.
“They’re bringing in Chevalier, who they believe is better with his feet and has other traits which probably suit the moment for PSG, and that’s them as European champions or Champions League winners rather.
“So I think for him to then come across to a Pep Guardiola side isn’t something that we expect to see because we’ve seen for all the years that he’s done well at City. The goalkeeper is an integral part of that, but not just in terms of shot stopping but in terms of building attacks.”
What other goalkeepers could Man City have signed
The best option for Man City was undoubtedly keeping Ederson and rotating him with James Trafford for the season, which would have prepared the 22-year-old to take over the number one role next season.
Donnarumma was an opportunity Man City felt was too good to turn down, and there are not many other goalkeepers out there at present who are better than the Italian shot-stopper and are seeking a move away from their club.
Porto’s Diogo Costa was an option for Guardiola at one stage over the summer; however, City never moved for the Portuguese goalkeeper, who would have cost a large £64m to bring to the Etihad Stadium.
In the end, Man City have made the decision they feel is best and only time will tell if they have got it right.