Nine years ago, Pep Guardiola arrived in the Premier League with a clear intention to reshape the English public`s perception of the goalkeeper`s role. Manchester City then had Joe Hart between the sticks, but England`s top choice lacked proficiency with the ball at his feet, making him unsuitable for Guardiola`s system. He had to depart.
Guardiola had been adapting the principles he brought from Barcelona and Bayern Munich long before this summer. It is hard to imagine that the manager who first arrived at the Etihad envisioned someday playing with four center-backs across his defense, or deploying an attack whose core philosophy might be “whenever Erling Haaland isn`t on screen, all other characters should be asking, `where`s Haaland?`” This isn`t a criticism; Guardiola`s insistence on continuous innovation is precisely what makes him one of the greatest managers of all time.
Guardiola`s relentless quest for improvement has brought him full circle. After several challenging seasons where success often seemed to occur despite Ederson`s performances — who was rarely more than two or three off-color games away from the bench — City has completely overhauled its goalkeeping department. The generation`s finest ball-playing goalkeeper is now bound for Galatasaray, with two of last season`s outstanding shot-stoppers arriving as his replacements.
Indeed, Gianluigi Donnarumma, nearing a move to City after they intervened in his contract dispute with Paris Saint-Germain, has long been recognized as one of the best at keeping the ball out of the net. The 26-year-old struggled in the early months of last season but, not for the first time in his career, timed his return to form perfectly.
In the Champions League, the Italian international was exceptional, arguably the primary reason Paris Saint-Germain held off Arsenal in the semifinals. In every year of the competition he has played, Donnarumma has conceded fewer goals than the post-shot expected goals (xG) value of the shots he faced. As a pure shot-stopper, Donnarumma stands alongside talents like Thibaut Courtois and Jan Oblak as one of the best in the business.
However, what Donnarumma is not, is a goalkeeper who appears comfortable with the ball at his feet. Even the very best have moments like the Italian did in the 2022 Champions League, when he gifted the ball, and effectively the tie, to Real Madrid`s Karim Benzema. Donnarumma consistently looks ill at ease when the ball is played back to him. Given the possession-dominant team he plays in, he touches the ball far less frequently than most goalkeepers would, averaging over 20 percent fewer touches per 90 minutes than the man he replaces. No matter how much Guardiola works on Donnarumma`s technique, he won`t be getting a goalkeeper who can ping a 60-yard ball onto a striker`s run like Ederson could.
Nor can James Trafford. He would be entitled to feel a little miffed that his grand homecoming from Burnley, intended to claim City`s No. 1 shirt, might well end with him warming the bench behind a Yashin Trophy winner. Trafford would feel he earned a big opportunity after a stunning Championship season, where his 29 clean sheets in 45 games and 12.48 goals prevented were undeniably vital factors in Scott Parker`s side`s promotion. Once again, City are signing a shot-stopper first, one who has already made a high-profile blunder with the ball at his feet.
This shift towards shot-stoppers reflects broader changes in what Guardiola seems to desire from City. This has become a more transitional team, less intent on pursuing control purely for control`s sake. If this is the long-term vision, and City games are going to become more open, they will undoubtedly require a high-grade shot-stopper for all the chances they concede. Then again, two decades of Guardiola`s management suggest this is a man who will ultimately demand control above all else. If that proves to be the case, then City may well have made the wrong choice between the sticks.
