Manchester City have a bloated goalkeeping department.
James Trafford recently arrived at the Etihad Stadium in a £31m move from Burnley, despite the fact Pep Guardiola already has Ederson and Stefan Ortega.
Even in this situation, Manchester City still opened talks to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma and have even agreed personal terms with the Italian goalkeeper – according to L’Equipe – after he bid farewell to PSG.
The Ballon d’Or nominee is unlikely to be content with a backup role at Manchester City – having already been replaced by Lucas Chevalier at PSG – which means Guardiola might have to break a promise he made to Trafford if a deal materialises.
What James Trafford was allegedly told in transfer talks with Manchester City
Speaking on The Athletic FC Podcast, the reliable David Ornstein claimed that Manchester City told the 22-year-old he would be considered first choice in between the sticks under Guardiola.
He said: “There may be some level of interest (in Donnarumma) from Manchester City but they’ve got Ederson at the moment. There are no immediate plans for Ederson to go, despite what we’re hearing and reading.
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“If that changes, do they then look to do Donnarumma? We’ll see. But of course, they brought in James Trafford, and I think in many of the conversations with Trafford around his signing, it was indicated to the player that he would be regarded as first choice, or in and amongst the thinking of Pep Guardiola for that position.”
Galatasaray are pushing to sign Ederson – according to reports in Turkey – while Stefan Ortega hopes to leave Manchester City.
So, Trafford could soon have much less competition for a starting berth under Guardiola, although the presence of someone as esteemed as Donnarumma – a man Zlatan Ibrahimovic considers to be the best in the world – means a backup role is surely more likely.
Manchester City appear to have a free run at Gianluigi Donnarumma
Chelsea and Manchester United have been linked with a move for Donnarumma as well, although Ornstein made sure to stress that neither side are currently considering a move for the Italy international.
He said: “As far as we know, Chelsea and Manchester United do not have him on their agenda at the moment, whether that changes I don’t know, but that was made pretty clear.”
So, this deal is seemingly there to do for Manchester City – although finalising an agreement would leave Guardiola needing to have a potentially awkward chat with Trafford.