Manchester City’s Gianluigi Donnarumma has come in for criticism following his mistake against Aston Villa and meanwhile, James Trafford continues to impress for Leeds United.

The Italian is under the spotlight at the moment after making a couple of errors in quick succession for Manchester City. He allowed a fairly tame Nicolas Jackson strike to beat him in the second-half at Villa Park, and that came just a couple of weeks after he should have done a lot better on Paris Saint-Germain’s fourth goal against City in the Champions League.

Today, ahead of City’s game against Brighton in the Premier League, Enzo Maresca defended Donnarumma, saying (via MEN): “As a football player or manager, when you don’t get results or make some mistakes it’s normal. It’s a consequence. Gigio since we started is doing well, like any manager or player is making some mistakes, but it’s part of the season.

“They play so many games and minutes that sometimes it’s impossible not to make mistakes. He’s a strong character. He knows that when he makes some mistakes, he doesn’t need us to tell them. He recognises that and it’s part of the game.”

Fans are now hoping he will turn things around, so that we aren’t talking too much about James Trafford, who – perhaps uncomfortably for City – happens to be thriving at the moment for Leeds United following his exit from City.

James Trafford excelling for Leeds after Man City exit

Manchester City sold James Trafford to Leeds for about £40 million in the summer, and plenty praised that deal, feeling the club got a price that was more than fair.

But after eight rounds of Premier League fixtures so far, Trafford’s data is certainly impressive.

He has started all eight of Leeds’ games so far and kept three clean sheets. He’s only conceded six goals so far, which is a testament to both him and his defence.

As per Fotmob, his save percentage of 83.3% is the best in the Premier League and his goals-prevented metric of 1.96 is also one of the highest. Furthermore, Trafford’s hasn’t made a single error leading to a goal.

While his 64.1% pass accuracy could perhaps be slightly better, Trafford is doing the fundamentals of goalkeeping very well right now.

And that’s interesting to consider, because City have certainly been poor at the back at times this season and Donnarumma hasn’t covered himself in glory.

Trafford signed for City in 2025 thinking he was going to be the number one goalkeeper. The club then signed Donnarumma unexpectedly, and the Italian became the club’s first-choice. Trafford then left in the last window, as expected. He was never going to sit around for a second season.

At the moment, he’s outperforming the Italian and that has led to some fans expressing regret about his sale. Some never wanted him to leave.

Donnarumma remains a top goalkeeper, but he must work to get back on track before more people start asking questions about that Trafford sale.

Do Man City have a buy-back clause on James Trafford?

When City re-signed Trafford in 2025 from Burnley, they did so using a buy-back clause they had inserted when they sold him in 2023.

His sale to Leeds did not include a buy-back, but a reported by BBC Sport, City did negotiate a 20% sell-on clause, and also have matching rights – so if they match a future offer for Trafford they will get first refusal on him.

Whether Trafford would want to come back to City after the club’s signing of Donnarumma though is another question, even if the Italian leaves.