Why a Donnarumma return to Milan makes no sense

Rumours from France suggest that Gianluigi Donnarumma could return to Milan following Investcorp’s takeover but the move wouldn’t make any sense for either party.

The 23-year-old Italian goalkeeper has not had an easy year following his departure from the Rossoneri last summer. Not only has he been forced to share his starting spot with veteran Keylor Navas, he’s also made a number of high profile mistakes, such as in the Champions League collapse to Real Madrid.

Despite this rough start, however, a return to Milan makes no sense for Donnarumma. He’s contracted to the club until 2026 and it’s clear that he has the talent to succeed in the French capital, although his growth will be limited by the competition from Navas.

The Italian will also gain regular experience winning silverware in France and competing in the Champions League, adding to his development and making him a more well-rounded goalkeeper for the Italian national team.

Picking up Donnarumma also doesn’t make sense for Milan. One of the Rossoneri’s best purchases last summer was the 26-year-old Mike Maignan, who only cost €14.4m, which seems like a bargain in retrospect.

Maignan has kept 14 clean sheets in the league this season, matching his predecessor’s best ever season. Should he keep one more clean sheet in Milan’s last five games, he’ll top that, further proving his quality.

The 26-year-old French goalkeeper has a post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed stat of +6.6, much higher than Donnarumma’s +2.5 – the stat essentially refers to how many goals ‘should’ have been scored against a goalkeeper, so a negative rating suggests poor shot stopping and a positive rating highlights that a shot stopper has made more saves than he statistically should have.

Essentially, Milan have the perfect replacement in Maignan and so there’s no need for them to bring back Donnarumma. Instead, those funds would be better diverted elsewhere.