Man City Star (Who Cost Less Than £30M To Sign) Rated As The Best In The Premier League

BACK David Tully Oct 8th 2026 Former Nottingham Forest and Wales star Mark Crossley says Man City's Gianluigi Donnarumma is the best goalkeeper in the Premier League for one "simple reason." The Italian international was signed for just £26m from Paris Saint-Germain last year, but Crossley claims Donnarumma is top of the current crop due to his shot-stopping ability: "Donnarumma. Simple reason because I always got told, 'What's your job as a goalkeeper?' And ultimately your job as a goalkeeper is to stop the ball from going in the goal." "Back in the day, it was probably the opposite.

75 per cent with your hands and 25 per cent with your feet. That's the way I look at it.

I think ultimately your job is to stop the ball from going in the goal. Whether that's old-fashioned or not, but that is your job.

And I think he's the best at doing that job." The numbers back up Crossley's point Opta assess each Premier League keeper, comparing their xG against to the actual number of goals conceded. After 5 games, Donnarumma is the second-best in the top flight, behind Newcastle United's Lukas Hornicek.

The 27-year-old has conceded 2.6 fewer goals than his xG against, which is far superior to the likes of Arsenal's David Raya. The Golden Glove winner has only conceded 0.1 fewer goals than his xG faced.

Donnarumma will be needed when Man City face Liverpool Anfield is never an easy place to go, and there is a good chance that Enzo Maresca's side will have to call upon their keeper to get them out of trouble on Sunday evening. Donnarumma was a nemesis for Liverpool when he faced them in the Champions League for PSG, and he will be looking to produce more heroics if required this weekend.

Want more news on Man City? Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites.

At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for the Football News Network.