Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ederson, Robert Sánchez and André Onana have all become totems for opinions on the role of a goalkeeper in modern football.
The role of a goalkeeper is the simplest on a football field. Indeed, their purpose is to keep the ball out of the net. This is why they are the only player permitted to use their hands and so the goalkeeper position was not so long ago the easiest to assess. Modern football, however, has changed the parameters. The goal posts have metaphorically been moved.
Goalkeepers are now expected to play with their feet. It’s been this way for the past decade-and-a-half, possibly more. Ederson, Manuel Neuer, David Raya and many others have all reached the top of the sport as ball-playing goalkeepers whose role is to construct attacks just as much as it is to thwart them.
Somewhere along the way, though, something got twisted. Modern football is more confused than ever over the role of the goalkeeper. This has been highlighted by the discourse around many number ones at some of the biggest clubs in Europe this summer. Some want a modern keeper while others are reverting back to a traditional shot-stopper.
Gianluigi Donnarumma is the latest victim of modern football’s changing goalkeeping expectations. Last season, the Italian was instrumental as Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time. His performance against Arsenal in the semi-finals was especially crucial, pulling off a series of reflex saves.
Donnarumma, however, has never been particularly comfortable in possession and so Luis Enrique has effectively replaced the 26-year-old for the start of the 2025/26 campaign, bringing in Lucas Chevalier from Lille as someone who can help PSG build from the back. Donnarumma, despite having a Champions League winners medal around his neck, is free to leave.
Manchester City have been most prominently linked with a move for Donnarumma, further complicating the narrative around keepers in the modern game. Pep Guardiola famously favours ball-playing goalkeepers, but with Ederson reportedly considering leaving could City have a more orthodox shot-stopper between the posts this season?
On the red side of the city, Manchester United are going through their own goalkeeping psycho-drama. They replaced David de Gea with André Onana two years ago in the belief that the Cameroonian would strengthen them as a possession-orientated side. Onana had earned a reputation for being one of the best distributors in Europe at Inter Milan.
However, Erik Ten Hag rarely utilised Onana’s ability to play directly into midfield while Ruben Amorim’s confidence in the 29-year-old has surely been shaken by a number of costly mistakes. It’s not out of the question that United could move for a new goalkeeper before the end of the summer transfer window.
Chelsea have been linked with alternatives to the error-prone Robert Sánchez despite boasting a stable of no fewer than eight goalkeepers. Meanwhile, Barcelona have replaced Marc-André Ter Stegen over the summer by bringing in Joan Gárcia from Espanyol, the thinking being that Gárcia is quicker off his line than the experienced German.
Across Europe, there is goalkeeping uncertainty that reflects the changing trends at the top of the game. Goalkeepers are under more scrutiny than ever before and their life has never been harder due to the shifting rules that dictate what they can and cannot do on the pitch. The position is going through a change.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) decision to permit goalkeepers to pass the ball to team-mates inside their penalty area from goal kicks led to more teams playing shorter passes from the back. Indeed, the percentage of goal kicks landing in the opposition half dropped to 67.8% from 75% after this change.
Counter to that, longer passes forward are now becoming more common as teams look for ways to vary their approach. Nottingham Forest, for example, played 60% of their goal kicks long last season. Newcastle’s long goal kick percentage stood at 48% as they got opponents turned and opened up space to attack with their physicality.
Every club wants a goalkeeper that can do it all. They want someone who can build out from the back, but also play long into the opposition half. Not at the expense of their shot-stopping ability, though. It’s still important for goalkeepers to be able to make saves and claim crosses, and this is where a course correction may be happening.
Dean Henderson and Matz Sels boasted some of the best Expected Goals Minus Goals Allowed numbers in the Premier League last season, combining to out-perform their underlying numbers by over six goals. Is playing out from the back really worth the number of points that simply having a good shot stopper is worth?
Chevalier could make PSG even better. Manchester United might be stronger for replacing Onana. Manchester City might be a good fit for Donnarumma despite his relative weakness in possession. Different teams need different goalkeepers, but the discourse around the position shows no sign of abating.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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