AC Milan's Gianluigi Donnarumma to Juventus? He Couldn't, Could He?

Over recent weeks, there has been an increasingly growing rumour that Juventus believe AC Milan’s Gianluigi Donnarumma is the ideal replacement for Gigi Buffon. The chatter is becoming impossible to ignore.

The current Bianconeri skipper has made no secret of the fact he intends to retire in two years’ time, hoping for a sixth trip to the game’s most prestigious tournament before finishing his career.

"I will try to make the next World Cup and then it may be time to close the door," Buffon said at an awards ceremony back in January, per FourFourTwo. "It will almost certainly be at the end of the 2018 World Cup."

The gossip was fuelled by none other than Juve director general Beppe Marotta earlier this week, with the official asked at a press conference about the eventual need to replace the club captain:

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In the last 20 years, the Italy national team goalkeeper has always come from Juventus. I say this just to make it clear to you: there has been [Dino] Zoff, Buffon and... the history of Juventus is made up of champions and talented Italians.

Today we have Buffon and we're keeping a tight hold on him as he is going to continue playing for us for a few years and he represents all the good things there are to talk about in football. Then we will look around and evaluate who to replace him with.

It's certainly not going to be easy because replacing a player like Buffon is a difficult challenge, but Juventus' ambitions are to find a worthy successor.

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Donnarumma—who at just 17 years old has already made two appearances for the Italy national team—fits the bill. Since being handed his Serie A debut in October 2015, he has proved to be an incredible talent, one any team in the world would be confident in fielding between the posts.

He took over from Diego Lopez, with even the former Real Madrid man telling RAI Sport (h/t Forza Italian Football) that his teenage team-mate “is a great guy and is the future of Milan and Italian football.”

Prior to the November international break, Donnarumma had made 42 Serie A appearances for the Rossoneri, keeping an impressive 15 clean sheets. Even this season, with a much-improved Milan sitting third in the table, Fox Soccer’s statistics show only seven ‘keepers have made more saves than his current tally of 40.

Beyond the numbers, he has been a joy to watch. It is usually thought that players in his position get better with experience, yet he doesn’t celebrate his 18th birthday until the end of February.

Taking in his performances is to see a fully accomplished player who makes few of the errors that normally blight those of a similar age. He does so thanks in large part to his excellent positioning, meaning that rather than endlessly comparing him to Buffon, he has much more in common with a young Edwin van der Sar.

Accomplished and intelligent enough to usually be in the right place, his athleticism and height (he stands 6’ 5” or 1.96-metre tall) mean he can almost always recover should he ever get his footwork wrong.

Given everything we have seen, Milan would be crazy to let go of such a talent, but a number of additional factors are fuelling the speculation. Foremost among them is the fact his contract with the Rossoneri is set to expire at the same time Buffon retires.

VALERY HACHE/Getty Images

Compounding that fact is the reputation of his agent, Mino Raiola. Yes, the interests of Donnarumma are served by the same man who bounced Paul Pogba between Turin and Manchester, having already helped Zlatan Ibrahimovic enjoy a career-long tour of Europe’s top clubs.

As usual, he has not been reluctant to discuss the goalkeeper’s future with reporters, recently speaking at length about the teams interested in signing his client should Donnarumma opt to leave San Siro, per Football Italia:

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Of course he has a great future. He knows where he’s going...

Juve, Chelsea and Manchester City are courting him but Milan do not want to lose him and will try to lock him down. Marotta is pressing. Juventus want to find an heir to Buffon and will try to bring him to Turin at all costs.

Regarding his contract, in 2018 he is due to earn €175,000. With [Milan CEO Adriano] Galliani there was a promise of renewal to 2019.

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He didn’t stop there, however, with Chinese consortium Sino-Europe Sports set to take over the club, Raiola told Tuttomercatoweb (h/t Football Italia) that “we’ll have to see what will become of this Milan before we make our assessments.”

For their part, many Juventus supporters are not taken in by such talk, as they are aware of Raiola’s ability to manipulate the press in order to achieve his goals.

“I don't think it is possible,” Nicola—a regular on the club’s vociferous Curva Sud—told Bleacher Report. “Milan will try to rebuild the team around him since they know that losing Donnarumma to Juve would mean remaining a follower in Serie A for the next decade. You win the titles by allowing less goals than the other team. This is what Serie A has always taught us!”

That skepticism is reflected by fans of Donnarumma’s current club, who see the youngster following in the footsteps of academy products like Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini in having a long career in the red and black stripes.

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Maldini & Baresi - AC Milan pic.twitter.com/tQD03IARo7

— Calcio Italiano ⚽ ️ (@Calcioitaliano_) November 16, 2016"

“We have historically succeeded with homegrown talent, and Donnarumma is the next in succession,” Milan fan Gino told Bleacher Report. “I can see the club doing everything to keep him over other promises. He's mature beyond his years, but his talent still needs time to develop.”

But away from the supporters of both clubs, Juve’s recent transfer strategy has led many to believe such an audacious move would not be beyond the Old Lady, as David Amoyal—a regular contributor to market expert Gianluca Di Marzio’s website—told Bleacher Report.

“The fact that Juventus was able to sign Miralem Pjanic and Gonzalo Higuain from rival clubs in Serie A has certainly been a factor in energising the rumours that they will land Donnarumma to replace Buffon in a few years,” he said. “But there are some key differences, for one, both Pjanic and Higuain had exit clauses- something that is very unlikely to happen with the 17-year-old keeper.

“However Galliani’s imminent departure from the Rossoneri takes away one of Milan’s best assets in any bid to keep Donnarumma. Milan’s legendary executive director has a close relationship with Raiola, which certainly cannot be said for his replacements.”

Certainly, all three sides make some important and valid points, but it would appear the future will be determined by one simple factor: How long will Milan remain an also-ran in Italy?

If the impending takeover sees a major influx of cash and the club becomes relevant again, then, as a Milan fan himself, it is difficult to see Donnarumma moving on. Should the current malaise continue to affect them, however, where better to realise a dream of being a champion than at Juventus?

The summer of 2018 might come too soon, but if Milan are not contenders as Donnarumma moves into his 20s, a change of scenery and a pact with Italian football’s grand Old Lady would become much more likely.