Chelsea Should Not Sign Gianluigi Donnarumma – Opinion

With the signing of Lucas Chevalier, Paris Saint-Germain have filled their goalkeeping spot for the coming season. This leaves Champions League-winning shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma on the exit door with no clear move in sight. Fabrizio Romano has moved to insist that Chelsea aren’t making a move for the former AC Milan man and in this article, we will detail why that’s the smartest choice.

Why Chelsea Should Not Sign Gianluigi Donnarumma

Rob Sanchez Form

While he has come in for some criticisms, Robert Sanchez has been in strong form over the past few months. He beat Donnarumma to the best goalkeeper award at the recent Club World Cup. In fact, he was far and away the best shot-stopper in that tournament with his 85% save percentage being better than anyone else’s.

The last few matches of the previous Premier League campaign were also marked by a defensive uptick. The Blues let in fewer goals to make up for a misfiring attack as they squeezed their way to Champions League qualification.

While there are obvious problems with Sanchez and he has at times proved costly, the last few months of evidence indicate that he has grown into a top-tier shot-stopper capable of keeping clean sheets. With form that good, he deserves to start the 2025/26 season as the number one option.

Breaking the Structure

The Blues have something really smart and effective going with their current transfer strategy. They buy players who will most likely increase their value and get them locked in to contracts that fit their incentivised wage structure. This allows them to move on from anyone who underdelivers like Noni Madueke or who wants a move away like Djordje Petrovic.

Safe to say, Donnarumma, a UCL winner from PSG, is not going to fit into any kind of wage structure that would make him easy to resell if he doesn’t hit the heights expected of him. This would be a huge bet to make from the sporting directors for a position that is already decently stocked with potential. If they set the precedent now, then they may find it difficult to get back to their efficient transfer model right away.

Could Block Mike Penders

Young Mike Penders is one of the big hopes at Chelsea. The young Belgian was signed from Gent and spent a season with the team, earning a spot in the senior squad after impressing for the Jong Genk B-team.  His potential is sky high and will need to be nurtured just as well as Thibaut Courtois’.

Donnarumma is only 26, bringing him in would essentially close the door on Penders ever becoming the number one at Stamford Bridge. It would go against a lot of the strategies put in place by the sporting directors to make such a big gamble that would also block the route to the first team for one of their top prospects.