Manchester City

Former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart says Gianluigi Donnarumma "is more than capable with his feet" despite some of the wider concern about his ball-playing ability.

"I have watched him play under pressure and I have watched him play all the way through from 16-years-old," said Hart on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

"There was a boy there who could hold his nerve for AC Milan and then he went to Paris St-Germain and helped them win trophies.

"I am a big James Trafford fan too, but why would you not sign someone like Donnarumma who can win you games?

"He is absolutely humongous and makes top saves at the top level.

"Pep Guardiola is ruthless now, he wants someone who he knows is world class.

"Trafford has potential, and I think they will nurse that, but he might not get what he wanted out of this season. I still think he can have a Manchester City career, for sure.

"I watched PSG last year and I didn't think that they had to play long because Donnarumma was in goal. They played through the system without a problem and they hardly got caught out by anyone."

The Observer's Rory Smith added: "Donnarumma's like having a bear in goal - why would you not want to have a bear in goal?"

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Gianluigi Donnarumma says he is "very excited for what lies ahead" after completing a move to Manchester City from Paris St-Germain.

The 26-year-old Italy goalkeeper has signed on a five-year deal and will wear the number 99 shirt.

He made 161 appearances for PSG, winning four league titles and a Champions League, among other trophies.

"I have admired watching Manchester City for many years - so to now be able to play for the club is a huge honour and a privilege," said Donnarumma. "I cannot wait to meet my new team-mates, the staff and the fans.

"Playing at Etihad Stadium will be very, very special for me.

"I am very excited for what lies ahead and can promise I will give absolutely everything to try to help the club achieve even more success."

Director of football Hugo Viana added: "Gianluigi's pedigree, quality and record speaks for itself, and we are all absolutely thrilled he has joined us here at City.

"He has accumulated a wealth of top-level experience and knows what is required to achieve success on a sustained level.

"From a remarkably young age, he has played at the very top level. That is unusual for a goalkeeper and it means he arrives here as one of the best in the world in his position.

"There is no doubt Gianluigi will bring further quality and depth to our top-class goalkeeping department."

A statement signing by City? Or should Guardiola have kept his trust in James Trafford?

Get in touch with your views here

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Defender Manuel Akanji has completed a season-long loan move to Inter Milan.

The 30-year-old Switzerland international moved to City from Borussia Dortmund in September 2022 and has made 136 appearances for the Blues, playing a key role in the 2022-23 Treble-winning campaign.

Akanji made 40 appearances for Pep Guardiola's side in 2024-25 but had been linked with a move away throughout the summer.

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Ederson says it has "been the most special time of my life" as he leaves after eight-years at Manchester City.

The Brazil goalkeeper, who has completed a move to Fenerbahce, has won 18 trophies under Pep Guardiola, and his six Premier League titles make him the most decorated keeper in the history of the competition.

He departs for the Turkish side having played 372 times.

"I leave Manchester City incredibly proud of what we have achieved together, and I am honoured to have worn the shirt so many times," Ederson said. "Under Pep, we have won dominated the Premier League and conquered Europe. It has been amazing.

"I would first of all like to thank him and head of goalkeeping Xabier Mancisidor for making me the best goalkeeper I could be and teaching so much about the game.

"I must also thank my team-mates. Our desire to win every game we play has been a joy to be a part of and that has made me relish every day on the training field or in the dressing room with every one of you.

"Finally, the fans. Thank you for making me feel at home in a city so far away from where I am from and for supporting me throughout what has been an amazing period for me and my family.

"I arrived in Manchester eight years ago full of hope, but I could not have predicted such a beautiful time together.

"Playing for City has been the most special time of my life and I will always be a fan of this special club. I'm going with my wife and children, but I'm leaving a big family here, Cityzens. Once a Blue, always a Blue."

Umir Irfan
Football tactics correspondent

Manchester City's out-of-possession work has been the source of some of their recent struggles.

Last week, we drew attention to Tottenham exposing City's high press by targeting the wide areas.

That tactic looks to be more an emerging pattern than a one-off, with Brighton's winner in their 2-1 victory on Sunday highlighting many of the same concerns.

For both Spurs' opening goal and Brighton's second, the ball is moved to a defender out wide, with City's attacker unable to press tightly. The wide player is able to turn and face forward before playing a long, direct pass down the channel.

One of their team-mates drops deeper, dragging City's full-back with them - Nathan Ake against Spurs and Rico Lewis against Brighton.

That means City end up with three players in their backline, who shift over to cover the space left by the full-back. One of City's centre-backs has to defend on the flank in an area they're less comfortable in, making them more likely to lose their duel.

Opposition players are then able to run in the space between the three defenders. Brighton, for example, had four players in attack against City's back three.

Brighton also vacated the central areas knowing that, by building down the sides, their players would be more dangerous out wide or running in behind.

With this pattern having emerged in City's past two games, it is worthwhile monitoring how Pep Guardiola will seek to address the issue.

Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

Manchester City have agreed a £26m deal to sign goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris St-Germain on a five-year deal, with the option of a further year.

City have also agreed to sell Ederson to Turkish side Fenerbahce for £12.1m.

No news yet on when those two deals will be announced officially.

Watch Total Sport's transfer deadline day special for Manchester clubs, focusing on the business done by City and United, plus the region's EFL sides.

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Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter

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Serie A side Inter Milan have agreed to sign Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji on loan for one million euros (£870,000).

The deal includes an option to make the move permanent for 15m euros (£13m), which becomes an obligation if Inter win Serie A.

The 30-year-old Switzerland international has not featured for City this season and had interest from Crystal Palace, AC Milan and Galatasaray, but his preference was to move to a club playing in the Champions League.

Jordan Butler
BBC Sport journalist

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Gianluigi Donnarumma's move to Manchester City looks increasingly likely, so how does the Italian compare with their current crop of goalkeepers and will he fit in Pep Guardiola's system?

The 26-year-old's availability is thought to be related to his ability with the ball at his feet, with PSG head coach Luis Enrique stating he was "looking for a goalkeeping profile that is different".

Guardiola also requires his goalkeepers to be brave on the ball and even initiate attacks. The outgoing Ederson is an excellent passer and has contributed a Premier League record of seven assists for a goalkeeper in his time at the club, with four of those coming last season.

Donnarumma is yet to provide an assist but his passing accuracy in the French top flight was 85.4% last season, just below the Brazilian's Premier League percentage and above that of Stefan Ortega.

It is his save percentage of 66.2% that is surprising. He kept just four clean sheets in 24 league starts and conceded almost four goals more than he should have according to Opta, with his goals prevented total -3.6.

He has posted far better numbers in previous seasons and also during the successful 2024-25 Champions League campaign, where he kept out more than 70% of shots faced. He is also formidable when facing penalties and has saved almost one in four spot-kicks.

Donnarumma remains an elite shot-stopper with an exceptional reach and dominance in one-on-one situations, and is not as bad on the ball as some critics would suggest. He would likely improve any Premier League team, even Manchester City.

Umir Irfan
Football tactics correspondent

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Manchester City's out-of-possession work has been the source of some of their struggles in recent weeks.

Losses to both Tottenham and Brighton highlight an emerging pattern that is likely contributing to City's poor start to the season. City press high against opponents when they build up from the goalkeeper. The instruction to press high, paired with asking the full-back to cover a larger distance in which they are tasked with pressing, has given teams the chance to exploit Guardiola's men down the flanks.

For both the first goal Spurs scored and the second goal Brighton scored, the ball is moved to a defender out wide with City's attacker unable to press them tightly. The opposition's wide player is able to turn and face forwards before playing a direct pass into the channels.

One of the opposition players drops deeper dragging City's full-back with them, Nathan Ake against Spurs and Rico Lewis against Brighton.

City, therefore, end up with three players in their backline, with all three players shifting over to cover the space left vacant by the full-back.

One of City's centre-backs ends up having to defend on the flank in an area they are less comfortable with, making them more likely to lose their respective duel.

Opposition players are then able to run into the space between the spread-out three defenders.

With this general pattern seen in their two most recent games, it is worthwhile paying attention to how Guardiola and co seek to address this problem going forward.

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Wayne Rooney believes Manchester City cannot be favourites for the Premier League title this season.

"City are still finding their feet with quite a few new players. It looked like they're still trying to figure out each other's game and how to gel better together, and they've lost big characters in the dressing room as well.

"Pep Guardiola will be very disappointed [with the Brighton defeat]. I don't see them as favourites [for the title]. Every year, in the last few years, I've seen them as favourites and the best team, but I don't think they're in the top two or three this year. It will be an interesting season for them."

Nonetheless, the former Manchester United forward maintains if City don't exceed expectations, then Guardiola might lose his post.

"If City don't win the league this year, I don't think Pep will be there. It might be a team in transition looking for a new manager and new players.

"So, I don't think you can look at it and say it's going to take the next three years to rebuild another title-winning team when there's probably uncertainty if the manager will still be there."

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Sean Kearns
BBC Sport

Pep Guardiola's best teams have been built on control, patterns of play and attacking incision.

When Manchester City beat Wolves 4-0 on the opening weekend of the season, it was natural to think the troubles that had plagued them last term had been erased over the summer.

But Sunday's defeat on the south coast was a repeat of the inconsistency City displayed throughout last season.

Guardiola's side stifled Brighton in the first half, limiting the Seagulls to a single opportunity through Kaoru Mitoma.

Erling Haaland, making his 100th Premier League appearance for City, opened the scoring with his 88th league goal for the club.

But a quadruple substitution by Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler after an hour changed the course of the game, with James Milner, Brajan Gruda, Georginio Rutter and Yasin Ayari entering the fray.

Brighton dominated from there on, equalising from the penalty spot through Milner, before a last-minute winner from Gruda.

"We conceded two goals. We were excellent for one hour," Guardiola told BBC Sport.

"After the goal we forgot to play. We were thinking of the consequences.

"I like many, many things we are doing. Like against Tottenham, we started well. I like many things the team has done here today but we were unable to win. When we conceded the goal, we stopped playing.

"It's one game. The season has just started. There is a long, long season ahead of us. We will see what happens."

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Only Manchester United's 1992-1993 title-winning team have recovered from losing two of their first three league matches to be crowned champions, and that came during a 42-game season.

"It's back to the drawing board for Man City," said former Chelsea and Middlesbrough goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

"There are a lot of questions still about this team and Pep Guardiola. Is he going to turn it around? He has never been in a situation quite like this before and the hole keeps getting deeper and deeper."

Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

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Manchester City have reshaped their squad in this transfer window, spending over £150m on six new signings, as well as seeing the exits of experienced winners Kevin de Bruyne, Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish from the dressing room.

Boss Pep Guardiola has spoken publicly about wanting to work with a smaller squad and it remains to be seen whether he gets his wish before the end of the window.

Sources have told BBC Sport there is interest in Manuel Akanji from Crystal Palace, AC Milan and Galatasaray among others, with City understood to be wanting about £15m for the defender.

With four senior goalkeepers on the books, Stefan Ortega will be allowed to move on and sources close to the player have said they are "looking for solutions".

Will Ederson leave too? If he does, will City have enough time to bring Gianluigi Donnarumma in?

Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan may go too if a suitable offer comes in, while there has also been reported interest in defender Nathan Ake.

It might be a busy day at Etihad Stadium.

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We asked for your views on what is still needed by Manchester City on transfer deadline day.

Here are some of your comments:

Colin: Anyone can see that we need a new top-class goalkeeper if Ederson leaves. We also do not possess a dominant, tall centre-back to clear up defensive set-plays. For all his brilliance in some areas, Pep Guardiola is generally suspect in the transfer market. Complains he has too many players - who signed them all, Pep? He inherited a top-class team - in some areas we do not match those standards as we speak.

Mark: James Trafford is one for the future - we need Gianluigi Donnarumma for the Champions League. Hopefully sign him and a right-back.

Chris: Definitely a right-back. Rico Lewis is not a right-back. Mateus Nunes a panic buy who should never play for Manchester City again as he makes too many mistakes.

Brian: City must not be tempted to overload in this transfer window. We need two key positions filled - a left-back and a holding midfielder to be there to support Rodri. We need to sell four players - Gundogan, Akanji, Ederson and Phillips. City have done wonderful transfer business in this calendar year, but we now need to complete the squad re-profile to give stability to both the domestic and European challenges. The quest must now begin to replace Guardiola for next season.

Susan: We need to have clear sight on who our number one goalkeeper will be. It's vital. And we still need another midfielder with extra energy and power. It still feels like we are lacking there.

Ian: Get Donnarumma, and a left-back too. While we have a lot of defenders, they are injury prone and playing out of position. Let Gundogan go - he's been a great servant but not the same since his return. Honestly, we could do with a back-up forward too but that's not going to happen.

Fenerbahce are working on a deal to sign goalkeeper Ederson from Manchester City after Turkish rivals Galatasaray had a 10m euro (£8.7m) bid rejected. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Today is the second transfer deadline day of the summer following a brief closure in June because of the Club World Cup.

In a change to previous windows, clubs only have until 19:00 BST to complete deals, bringing the Premier League in line with the EFL, Italy's Serie A, France's Ligue 1 and Germany's Bundesliga. The window in Scotland and Spain remains open until 23:00 BST.

It has already been a hectic window - with a number of storylines still to be resolved - but whether it turns out to be a day of transfer action or a pretty quiet one for your club, you will be able to keep across it all on BBC Sport.

Follow our live text coverage throughout the day here

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We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Brighton and Manchester City.

Here are some of your comments:

Brighton fans

Tony: First, Fabian Hurzeler deserves great credit for the quadruple substitution that turned the game on its head. We were very poor until that point. However, I was surprised by City's decline. They are a shadow of their former selves. Their first-half display was possibly the most cynical and negative I have ever witnessed.

Fran: Sloppy and sluggish first half, but the subs again made the difference. I thought James Milner used his experience and we looked a totally different side. Deserved to win.

Chris: Same old one poor half and one good half. A relief to finally get three points - especially against City - after three games, but worry is for another season of inconsistency under Hurzler.

Jane: Subs made all the difference. Surely some of these guys need to start the next game? I would also suggest the new strikers should at least be on the bench, otherwise the money is wasted, isn't it?

Man City fans

Silvio: Pep Guardiola must go! His type of game is over. It would only work with outstanding talents and he no longer has them. Other teams know how to outsmart his tactics and he destroys talented players by de-skilling them - look what he did with Jack Grealish and look how he is performing under Moyes. Tiki-taka football might give you possession, but once you lose the ball you're wide open. He must go.

Ged: Pass, pass, backwards, sideways, pass, sideways - repeat endlessly without any end product. Arrogance, laziness and redundant tactics. The game has changed, Pep - change with it. There is no fear factor when playing City any more. If bringing on Jeremy Doku and Rico Lewis to try to change the game is the answer, then we really are bereft of originality. The only saving grace is that there are plenty of games left.

Mark: Taxi for Pep. No improvement from last season. Same predictable, sterile football. Boring. The club is now more interested in making money than winning trophies. Transfers in the past two seasons have been atrocious. Bring back Vincent Kompany.

Paul: Out of the title race in August. Same issues as last year - no intensity and can't defend.

Pundits Wayne Rooney and Joe Hart join host Kelly Cates to bring you the action and talking points from Sunday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Brighton 2-1 Manchester City

• Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham

• Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal

• Aston Villa 0-3 Crystal Palace

Adwaidh Rajan
BBC Sport journalist

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Pep Guardiola would have hoped to have turned over a new leaf when Manchester City crushed Wolves 4-0 in their Premier League opener.

But that optimism from has quickly evaporated as a loss to Tottenham last week was followed by a late 2-1 defeat at Brighton on Sunday.

Things were looking up for Guardiola when Erling Haaland showed his knack to be at the right place at the right time to mark his 100th Premier League appearance with the opener for City.

Since signing from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, Haaland has scored 88 goals in the English top division - more than any other player in their first 100 games.

For comparison, Alan Shearer scored 79 in his first 100 games while Ruud van Nistelrooy had 68 and City legend Sergio Aguero netted 64.

However, the Norwegian was not to grab the headlines at the final whistle as the Seagulls pulled off a blockbuster second-half display to derail City.

The visitors failed to deal with Brighton's counter-attacks after the restart as Kaoru Mitoma, Yankuba Minteh and Diego Gomez all had chances to hurt City from quick breaks before goals from James Milner and Brajan Gruda sealed their fate.

It is safe to say City, who were looking to better their third-placed finish from last season, have not had an ideal start to the new season.

And it will not get any easier for them either as Manchester United will visit the Etihad Stadium in their first game back from international break on 14 September.