Would Donnarumma Be An Upgrade On Mendy For Chelsea? We Take A Look At The Stats

In what was a surprising development over the weekend, it is believed Chelsea are holding talks with AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma about a free transfer at the end of the season.

The 21-year-old’s current deal expires in the summer and he is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with another team this month if he chooses.

Considering it has only been a few months since the Blues shelled out £22m on Edouard Mendy, their interest in Donnarumma may raise a few eyebrows, so would the Italian be an improvement on the club’s current number one?

Press the next page as we go through the statistics to find an answer.

Save Percentages

Although a goalkeeper’s save percentage isn’t everything, it does give you an indication of how consistent they are in terms of the shots they face on target.

In this area, Mendy actually comes out on top (albeit marginally). Measuring their league performances over the past five seasons, the Chelsea number one’s save ratio is 77.2% while Donnarumma’s is 74.48%. It’s a small difference but it’s still something to take note of.

Passing Accuracy

The ability to pass it out is vital for a modern goalkeeper. Chelsea, like every other top team, prefer to build their attacks from the back and ensuring you have a keeper who is capable with the ball at his feet is important.

Based on this metric, Donnarumma is the superior passer. Assessing their pass completion numbers in the league over the last two and a half years, the Milan keeper has completed 78.06% of his passes, while Mendy has managed just 70.1%.

Collecting Crosses

Not every keeper is confident when coming for crosses, and it is the sign of a good number one if they are able to decide when and when not to come for ball. Some are more positive than others in this area.

In terms of crossing, Donnarumma is the more likely to come out and intercept a delivery. In the last three league seasons, the Italian international has collected 9% of his crosses, while Mendy is slightly inferior at 8.3%.

Penalties Saved

Penalties are not easy to save so if you have a keeper in between the sticks who is capable of saving his fair share, he could help you win a good number of points every season.

Over the past five years, Donnarumma has saved 8 of the 28 penalties he has faced, whilst Mendy has kept out just 2 of 19 penalties. The AC Milan keeper once again comes out on top in this area.

To conclude, then, you have to say that Donnarumma is statistically better in most areas so it would be fair to class him as an upgrade on Mendy if Chelsea do manage to sign him.

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