Manchester United have learned this rule of summers: great teams fix the last wobble first. At Old Trafford the wobble is in goal. André Onana’s peaks have been loud; his errors, louder.
Altay Bayındır auditioned, the shirt stayed unconvinced. So United move—fast.
Gianluigi Donnarumma is the target that changes air. Twenty-six, 6ft 5in, a Champions League winner with PSG, he brings presence before the first save and calm after the last.
His contract runs into next season, talks are strained under a wage cap, and Paris have lined up Lucas Chevalier as per a recent report on Corriere dello Sport.
That opens a door. United are said to be leading the queue, with Manchester City cooled by their move for James Trafford.
This is urgency with calculation. The fee won’t scare as public valuations hover in the mid-thirties, but the wages will test a new pay structure at Carrington.
Purpose says: buy the player, not the buzz. Culture says: no exceptions that bend the room.
Donnarumma fits the football and the fantasy. Amorim’s press needs a goalkeeper who starts passing networks under pressure, claims traffic, and kills panic in big minutes.
Fans crave belonging; a true No.1 gives it back. One glove raised to the Stretford End and the stadium exhales.
There are risks. New leagues bite. Big salaries echo. But windows reward conviction.
If United truly lead, they must close—while the offer lasts. Fix the last wobble first, and everything else sounds different.
The clock hurries. Paris count. United decide.
Nights in Europe remember keepers who refuse to blink. Under lights.