[6][7][8][9][10] In spite of that, Milan Youth Department Manager Filippo Galli hinted that the young goalkeeper might have been ready to join the first team permanently.
[13] He made his official debut for the club on 14 August 2010, in the second preliminary round of the Coppa Italia against Virtus Lanciano; he played the whole 120 minutes, as Piacenza won 5–3 after extra time.
[15] His second appearance came on 27 October, in the third preliminary round of the Coppa Italia against Serie A club Cagliari;[16] despite his team suffering a 3–0 defeat, Donnarumma's performance was considered good.
[23] Donnarumma made his official debut for the club on 15 August 2011, in the second preliminary round of the Coppa Italia against Benevento; he played the whole 120 minutes of a 2–2 extra time draw and then pulled off two saves in the penalty shoot-out, helping his team to win 3–2.
[29] While answering questions from fans during a live chat session on 30 May 2012, Donnarumma stated that he was "99.9% sure" he would sign an extension to his contract with Milan, which was due to expire the following year.
However, he also pointed out that he was "not going to stay at Milan to be the third-choice goalkeeper" and instead he would prefer to spend another season on loan in order to play regularly, hopefully with "a Serie B team that fights for promotion".
[32][33] Donnarumma spent the season as the third-choice goalkeeper behind Sébastien Frey and Alexandros Tzorvas, making his only one appearance and Serie A debut in a 0–0 draw at Bologna on the last day.
[42] After a season without appearances, Donnarumma was rumored to have been placed on the transfer market, primarily due to his unusually high yearly salary of €1 million for a third-choice goalkeeper.