Manchester United were monitoring the situation of Gianluigi Donnarumma at PSG this summer. But they ultimately passed on the goalkeeper and signed Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp.
Alongside Chelsea and Manchester City, United were also one of the front-runners to sign the Italy international once it became clear his time at Paris Saint-Germain was coming to an end.
Donnarumma eventually joined Manchester City in the final days of the window. He made his debut in the Manchester derby and kept a clean sheet in a 3-0 win over United at the Etihad.
The 26-year-old was mostly untroubled during the match but did make one key save from a Bryan Mbeumo volley in the second half.
He followed that with another clean sheet in City’s 2-0 Champions League win over Napoli. Manchester United, meanwhile, chose not to pursue a deal.
According to The Telegraph, United had a chance to sign Donnarumma earlier in the summer but decided against making a formal bid due to the overall cost of the transfer.
PSG were seeking a fee of around £30–35 million, but the bigger issue was the player’s wage demands.
Donnarumma reportedly asked for £330,000 per week, which would amount to £17.4 million per year.
Over a five or six-year deal, that would have pushed the total cost of the move to approximately £130 million. It is a figure United were unwilling to match.
Instead, Senne Lammens became United’s goalkeeper. The Belgian is both a long-term project and a current option for the first team. Lammens is yet to make his debut for United.
Amorim has stated he does not have a fixed number one. Also, the board believes that Lammens is a goalkeeper who could lead United’s defence for years to come.
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