PSG's transfer policy to blame as error-prone Donnarumma struggles while Maignan shines

Cameron Smith

• 4 Dec 2023 07:21 GMT
• 6 min read

When Gianluigi Donnarumma joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer in 2021, he was regarded as one of the world’s very best goalkeepers.

After all, he had just been named Player of the Tournament at the delayed Euro 2020 as his penalty shootout heroics helped Italy to a surprise victory in the competition.

Donnarumma was the first goalkeeper to officially win the award in European Championship history (Peter Schmeichel’s win in 1992 was unofficial) and before joining PSG he had also racked up 251 appearances for AC Milan after making his competitive debut at just 16 years old.

In doing so, the Italian became the second-youngest goalkeeper to ever feature in Serie A and Diego Lopez, Milan’s number one at the time, admitted Donnarumm was “the future of Milan and of Italian football” after losing his first-team place to the teenager.

However, his performances and his status as one of the world’s best have both suffered since he left Milan to join PSG in 2021.

During his first season at the Parc des Princes, Donnarumma was forced to share minutes with Keylor Navas as the pair rotated in both the league and Champions League.

Last season, however, Donnarumma established himself as PSG’s clear number one and Navas was forced to join Nottingham Forest on loan in January.

Despite his evident status as first-choice, Donnarumma has been an unreliable presence in between the sticks during his time at PSG and his form this season has been a real concern.

The errors are beginning to stack up and Luis Enrique may start considering the idea of dropping Donnarumma for former Barcelona ‘keeper Arnau Tenas, who joined the Parisians from Camp Nou this summer.

Tenas’ PSG debut came against Le Havre on Sunday, after Donnarumma was sent off for a bizarre high kick on Jose Casimir.

In the 10th minute, Donnarumma was given his marching orders after a moment of madness outside his penalty area. A long ball was launched towards the Italian, but he was hesitant and waited for the ball to come to him; Donnarumma then made a movement towards the ball, attempted to clear it away and kicked Casimir in the head instead.

He was shown a straight red card and Tenas came on to make his PSG debut. The young Spaniard impressed as 10-man PSG sealed a crucial 2-0 win to go top of Ligue 1. Tenas made seven saves in total and

Donnarumma’s error against Le Havre capped off a nightmare week that also saw him at fault for Newcastle’s opener in the Champions League.

Alexander Isak should’ve opened the scoring after a poor Donnarumma pass put Achraf Hakimi under pressure just outside his own penalty area, but the Sweden international made no mistake minutes later when a Miguel Almiron shot was poorly dealt with by the PSG ‘keeper.

Donnarumma parried a fairly tame shot straight into the path of Isak, who tapped home to give Newcastle the lead. Kylian Mbappe’s last-gasp penalty spared Donnarumma’s blushes but it’s not the first time that he has made a costly error in a PSG shirt.

The reverse fixture against Eddie Howe’s men also saw Donnarumma fail to save a Sean Longstaff shot, despite getting a huge hand on the ball.

Furthermore, in November, the former Milan shot-stopper passed the ball straight to Takumi Minamino as Monaco equalised in the 22nd minute at the Parc des Princes before PSG ran out 5-2 winners.

Errors aren’t just limited to this campaign either. Last season, Donnarumma was heavily criticised after a weak Kinglsey Coman volley squirmed underneath him as Bayern beat PSG 1-0 in the first-leg of their last-16 Champions League clash.

In addition, he was blamed during their shock 3-1 loss to RC Lens after flapping at a cross to present an easy chance for Przemyslaw Frankowski to score.

In his debut campaign, PSG were 2-0 up on aggregate against Real Madrid, but Donnarumma let Los Blancos back into the game after losing possession to Karim Benzema inside his own box. The Italian dallied on the ball and was tackled by the Frenchman, who drew Real level on the night.

His ability on the ball is notably poor and has been exploited by opponents time and time again during his time at PSG.

Maignan shines for Milan

On the other hand, Mike Maignan has been superb since he joined Milan as Donnarumma’s replacement. The Frenchman had already proved his credentials at Lille, but he remains at the top of his game.

He came through the PSG academy, but was never given a real chance in the first-team and pushed to leave the club.

The decision to let Maignan go will now be looked back on with deep regret as the France international continues to impress for Milan.

His team-mate Christian Pulisic even admitted that he believes Maignan is the best goalkeeper in the world after he bagged an assist for the American’s goal against Frosinone this weekend.

PSG may have sold Maignan for €1 million in 2015 and signed Donnarumma on a free transfer in 2021, but it’s clear who is the better goalkeeper and it’s not the one currently playing for Enrique’s side.

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