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(Credit: Manh Tung, Hasan Karim - Breaking Media)
Callum O'Connell
Fri 22 August 2025 8:30, UK
James Trafford is likely to seek assurances about his playing time from Pep Guardiola should Man City complete a deal to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma.
That is according to former Man United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown, who remains very well-connected within the game, as he exclusively told Football Insider that the 22-year-old is determined to remain the first-choice goalkeeper.
Football Insider revealed on 12 August that City have made a move to sign Donnarumma as they aim to get ahead of rivals in the race for his signature.
The Italy international has been made available by Paris Saint-Germain and is no longer part of Luis Enrique’s plans, placing a number of clubs on alert.
However, Trafford’s arrival at the Etihad earlier in the summer has complicated the situation as he has been regarded as the long-term first-choice under Guardiola.
Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson told Football Insider that Donnarumma and Trafford could share the number-one role after hearing a move for the Italian is “imminent”.
Gianluigi Donnarumma has been heavily linked with a move to Man City.
(Credit: Imago)
This article contains exclusive comment from Mick Brown, a football transfer expert and former chief scout for Man United and Sunderland among others.
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Brown first told Football Insider in May that Man City are considering signing Donnarumma as a long-term option to replace Ederson, whose future is uncertain.
The former scout, who has a wealth of experience in top-level player recruitment after over a decade at Man United during their most successful period, insisted that City could cause themselves an unnecessary issue with their pursuit.
“It’s no surprise that Man City are looking to move on from Ederson,” he told Football Insider.
“They see Donnarumma as an upgrade on him, so they’re looking at bringing him in and potentially letting Ederson go if the right offer comes in.
“But complicating that is their decision to sign James Trafford from Burnley.
“If Donnarumma comes in, where does that leave him?
“Those aren’t just questions I’m asking, that’s what he’ll be asking as well and I expect he’ll want to speak to Guardiola about his role in the squad.
Pep Guardiola has endured a busy summer transfer window.
(Credit: Imago)
“It’s likely he’ll seek assurances from the manager about his playing time, because he hasn’t gone to Man City just to sit on the bench.
“He wants to be the first-choice goalkeeper and I expect he’ll make that clear.
“It’s a strange decision from City, to be honest, because it makes that situation far more complicated than it ever needed to be.
“Obviously, Donnarumma is a top goalkeeper so the opportunity to sign him is going to be tempting.
“But it will be interesting to see how Trafford responds.”
Alongside the speculation about City’s goalkeeping situation, they are targeting a number of other high-profile targets to improve Guardiola’s squad.
Football Insider revealed on 17 August that City are eyeing Xavi Simons and Rodrygo as attacking reinforcements in the closing stages of the window.
Rodrygo is a target for multiple Premier League clubs.
(Credit: Imago)
However, both deals would be expensive to pull off, while their pursuit of the former is complicated by interest from Chelsea who are pushing for the deal.
This comes after Football Insider revealed on 16 August that Chelsea are leading the race for Simons and have been working on the deal for weeks.
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