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Paris Saint-Germain

sportsmole.co.uk, 26 October 2023, 06:34
Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has affirmed that he is "very happy" in the French capital amid previous speculation over his future.

The Italy international memorably broke into the AC Milan first team at the age of just 16 in 2015 before running down his Rossoneri contract and joining PSG on a free transfer in 2021.

During his first season at the Parc des Princes, Donnarumma was expected to become Mauricio Pochettino's number one, but he instead engaged in a fierce battle for goalkeeping supremacy with Keylor Navas.

The 24-year-old made just 17 Ligue 1 starts during the 2021-22 campaign and was also benched for three Champions League encounters, fuelling rumours that he was unhappy in Paris.

However, Donnarumma quickly demoted Navas down to second choice last season, culminating in the Costa Rican's loan move to Nottingham Forest for the second half of the campaign as Donnarumma kept 14 clean sheets in 48 matches.

Navas has remained in the French capital since leaving the Tricky Trees, but Donnarumma remains the Ligue 1 champions' first choice under Luis Enrique and has not missed a single minute for Les Parisiens so far this term.

The 24-year-old made his 12th appearance of the season and kept his sixth clean sheet against former club Milan on Wednesday night, as PSG strolled to a 3-0 Champions League group-stage win over Stefano Pioli's team.

When quizzed on his happiness in Paris, Donnarumma insisted that he feels at home in France and also paid tribute to the club's fanbase, who have "always been great" to him amid the ultras' fractious relationship with former attackers Neymar and Lionel Messi.

"I'm very happy at PSG. It's a big family, the atmosphere is also great — the fans have always been great to me. I'm gonna give my best for PSG, as always," Donnarumma stated.

"I try to improve every day. I've always said that I have a lot of room for improvement, so every day, I try to listen to my coach and learn. My aim is to grow and to blossom every day.

"I'm really happy with my development here, and I have a lot more experience now than I did a few years ago. I'm still a young player, but the experience that I've gained helps me to prepare for games and to experience them in a different way."

Donnarumma also revealed that Enrique has been pleased with how his footwork is developing this season, adding: "We started a new challenge with a new coach this year, and I think that we're playing some great football.

"We knew about the coach's profile, and we're really happy to have Luis Enrique and his staff with us. We have a lot of room for improvement, but week in, week out, we keep improving.

"On a personal level, Luis is really happy with how my footwork is improving, and I'm happy with how I'm doing and with how we're trying to build out from the back."

Donnarumma's shut-out on Wednesday night was his 29th in 84 competitive matches for PSG, who return to Ligue 1 action away to Brest on Sunday lunchtime.

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