Will Donnarumma and Senne Lammens Make Their Premier League Debut In Manchester Derby?

The 2025 summer transfer window ended in a thrilling fashion for multiple Premier League clubs as several major last-minute deals were finalised before the window closed on Monday (September 1, 2025). The two Manchester sides, Manchester City and Manchester United, had a dramatic finish to their summer transfer window as they focused on strengthening the goalkeeper position in their squads in some last-gasp deals. The Premier League title contenders Manchester City were able to sign Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain, while Manchester United made the signing of young Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens to add some much-needed quality to that position.

Can Gianluigi Donnarumma and Senne Lammens Make Premier League Debut in Manchester Derby?

The interesting thing is that after the September (2025) international break, Manchester United and Manchester City will face each other in the first Manchester Derby of the 2025/26 season at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday (14 September). That means it can be the perfect platform for both the new goalkeepers in Donnarumma and Lammens to potentially be making their Premier League debut for their respective clubs in a feisty match such as the Manchester Derby.

Considering that both Donnarumma and Lammens were signed in time before the 2025 summer window closed, they have also been registered in the Premier League squads of both Manchester City and the Red Devils. Hence, they are legally allowed to start playing from the next game onwards itself and there will be no issues for either goalkeeper to start the Manchester Derby after the international break.

Now, it's upon the two respective coaches in Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim to decide if they want to give the official debuts to either goalkeeper in the derby. That might be tricky for Donnarumma, considering that he hasn't played a single game since PSG's loss to Chelsea in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final. The Italian goalkeeper lacks match sharpness and might be slowly eased into the goalkeeper role after training with the Manchester City players. Guardiola has the slowly integrating players into his starting XI, so there is a chance that James Trafford starts over Donnarumma in the derby.

When it comes to Manchester United, however, they might end up fast-tracking Lammens to become their new first-choice goalkeeper. Altay Bayindir has made multiple notable errors in their first three matches of the 2025/26 Premier League, and Andre Onana was poor in the loss to Grimsby Town. Hence, Lammens is likely to be chucked straight into the fire and made to prove his quality in the heated derby against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

How Have Donnarumma And Lammens' Careers Gone So Far?

Out of these two goalkeepers, Gianluigi Donnarumma is definitely the more renowned and experienced goalkeeper. The Italian goalkeeper is considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world after enjoying a prolific stint with PSG. He helped the French giants win multiple Ligue 1 titles and also the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League, managing 56 clean sheets in 161 appearances for PSG during his stint with the club.

Donnarumma has also achieved a lot of success at the international level with Italy. He has made 74 appearances for the Italian national team, managing 30 clean sheets in that period and conceding 66 goals. The 26-year-old goalkeeper played a pivotal part in helping Italy win the Euro 2020 title, making multiple saves in the penalty shootout against England in the final to help them clinch the championship.

Lammens, however, is considerably lacking in terms of experience. The 23-year-old goalkeeper is yet to make his debut for the Belgium national team, having made nine appearances for the Belgium under-21 team in his career. He came up through Club Brugge's youth system, but earned most of his success with Royal Antwerp after joining them in 2023.

Lammens made 64 appearances for Antwerp, keeping 12 clean sheets and gaining a reputation for being an impressive shot-stopper and is pretty good with his distribution too. The 23-year-old is now going to face a whole new challenge at Manchester United, and will be under intense pressure from the first game itself as he aims to prove himself as a more reliable option than Bayindir and Onana to validate the Red Devils' gamble on signing him.