By Richard Jolly

Copyright independent

Gianluigi Donnarumma was smiling as he said it. It would be best, he suggested, if his mother stays away from Manchester City against Napoli. “My mum is a bit in trouble,” he said. A huge fan of the Serie A champions, her loyalties could be divided. So, perhaps, in future, could those of his young son, Leo. “I think he is going to be a true Neapolitan,” said Donnarumma. The captain of Italy grew up idolising Gianluigi Buffon and was a prodigy of AC Milan, but he hails from Castellammare di Stabia, on the Gulf of Naples.

The temptation is to assume that the less picturesque parts of Manchester could come as a culture shock to City’s latest signing. For now, though, he exudes happiness. “It’s an honour and a pride to be here,” said a man who traded the Champions League winners, in Paris Saint-Germain, for a club who limped out of the competition without reaching the last 16 a few months ago. Donnarumma debuted in a Manchester derby with a win, a clean sheet, a knee slide when City scored their third goal and the congratulations of Erling Haaland, who had run much of the length of the pitch, for a stunning save from Bryan Mbeumo.

If Haaland and Donnarumma have a budding bromance of supersized figures with claims to be the world’s best in their position, the Italian, suddenly unwanted at PSG, is feeling the love at City. His transfer was announced the day after deadline day but had long been a possibility. Ederson left and Donnarumma arrived, City exchanging goalkeeping opposites.

“Before summer I knew that City were very interested in me and the relationship strengthened after the Club World Cup,” said Donnarumma. And if all of that invites questions why City signed James Trafford in the meantime, with the Englishman arriving in the expectation he could be first choice, and then consigning him to the bench when a goalkeeping superstar subsequently signed, Donnarumma said Pep Guardiola was keen to get him.

“I knew the coach was pushing for my arrival here,” he said. “Everyone wanted me here, it gave me such pride to see such a demonstration of affection from there. I didn’t hesitate to come here with great joy and enthusiasm.”

And if everyone at City wanted Donnarumma, that came as a welcome contrast to PSG. Their maiden Champions League triumph could not have come without a host of his saves; particularly those in England, given his brilliance against Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal. But talks about a new contract broke down, PSG signed Lucas Chevalier and Donnarumma was omitted from the squad at the start of the season.

“They make their own choices,” he shrugged. “It’s part of football.” He spoke warmly about his former colleagues but, perhaps tellingly, with no mention of manager Luis Enrique. “I’m happy for my ex-teammates,” he added. “They have always shown affection to me, even when they knew I would leave. It was a great thing for me.”

Yet Donnarumma and Luis Enrique had long seemed a marriage of convenience. A former Barcelona colleague of Guardiola’s has preferred footballing goalkeepers; Chevalier is better with the ball at his feet. Yet Guardiola was at the vanguard of that particular revolution, as Joe Hart can testify. Yet Donnarumma can appear an old-school goalkeeper. He is challenged with replacing the flagbearer of the new breed, a player defined by his pass-completion rate as well as much as his save percentage.

“I would say in the last decade we always had incredible keepers,” said the City manager. “Ederson did an incredible job.” The job description may be different with Donnarumma; he does not have the skills of an outfield player.

He can take a safety-first approach. Which, given the goals some other keepers have conceded with failed attempts to pass out from the back, could appear a common-sense attitude. Trafford gifted Tottenham their second goal at the Etihad Stadium with a misplaced ball.

Donnarumma is unafraid to boot the ball. “There are moments you can force play and moments when it’s better to kick it long and avoid dangerous situations,” he explained. “There are moments when you have to play long and avoid dangerous situations, especially in special moments like a Champions League or a final. We have to be good at reading the situation. When we can play, we play. When we can’t play, we don’t play.”

Now Donnarumma is playing for City. A match that means a lot to him will do for Kevin de Bruyne, too, back at the Etihad Stadium a few months after leaving. The Belgian has been part of an exodus of City’s 2023 Champions League winners: Ilkay Gundogan, Manuel Akanji, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish and Ederson have also left this year, either on loan or permanently.

Now regaining the Champions League is “one of our goals” according to Donnarumma. It would make part of a select group to win the competition in consecutive years with different teams. “I’m here at a huge club with a big history,” said the man who helped Paris Saint-Germain make history and was then cast aside.