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Revealed: Pep Guardiola’s ‘first pick’ to replace Claudio Bravo at Man City in 2017 was NOT Ederson

A new report has revealed Manchester City’s long-standing admiration for a now-first team star, insisting that the player was high on their transfer priorities in 2017.

At the time, Pep Guardiola was only in the early stages of reshaping the Etihad Stadium project, after a first campaign that had ended without silverware and questions asked about the goalkeeper position following Claudio Bravo’s inconsistent form.

The Chilean had arrived from FC Barcelona, following Guardiola’s personal decision to move away from long-standing No.1 Joe Hart, but struggled to adapt to the pace and physicality of English football, leaving Manchester City’s backline exposed on multiple occasions.

City knew they needed a long-term solution; a goalkeeper who could not only provide defensive stability but also align with Pep Guardiola’s vision of possession-based football and building phases of play from the back.

While Ederson would go on to become one of the most transformative signings of Pep Guardiola’s tenure, the latest revelations show the Brazilian was not initially the priority. Instead, the Catalan’s gaze was fixed on Italy, where a prodigious teenage talent had begun to attract Europe’s elite clubs.

As revealed by sources included within a new report by MailSport’s Jack Gaughan, in the final months of Pep Guardiola’s debut season at the Etihad Stadium – when the club were devising who would succeed Claudio Bravo – Gianluigi Donnarumma was ‘first pick’.

It is detailed that Guardiola wanted the Italian following on from his remarkable progress with AC Milan, and after watching the then-teenager in a friendly against Tottenham Hotspur held at the Allianz Arena in Munich two years prior.

It is pointed out that Donnarumma was just 16-years-old at the time and had not made his senior debut, although Pep Guardiola approached the youngster to ‘offer congratulations at the bravery from playing out from the back’.

Ultimately, Manchester City turned their attention to Benfica and secured Ederson in the summer of 2017. The Brazilian would go on to revolutionise the role of the goalkeeper in England, winning multiple Premier League titles and becoming a key component of City’s domestic and European dominance.

Yet the fact Gianluigi Donnarumma was the original preference underlines how highly Pep Guardiola rated the Italian even at such a young age, and fast forward to today, the Italy No.1 has finally arrived at the Etihad Stadium, years after first catching Guardiola’s eye.

Supporters may now see a full-circle moment play out, with the Italian stepping into the void left by Ederson’s recent departure. Looking ahead, the intriguing question is whether Guardiola adapts his tactical approach to Donnarumma’s strengths, or whether the Italian evolves into a version of the goalkeeper Guardiola first imagined nearly a decade ago.

Either way, the long-standing admiration suggests this partnership was always destined to happen, even if it took eight years to materialise and certainly no downfall through signing Ederson.