Former Arsenal and Sunderland keeper joins Crawley Town as player coach
Crawley Town have announced their first signing of the summer – and it they have brought in some experience.
Reds have appointed former Arsenal, Sunderland and Reading Goalkeeper Vito Mannone on a dual player-coach role. The experienced keeper will head up the goalkeeping department, taking control of all sessions and player development, but will also be available for selection as a registered member of the playing squad.
Mannone began his career in the Atalanta youth set-up before moving to Arsenal in 2005. During his time in North London, he would make 23 appearances for the Gunners before a loan spell at Hull for the 2010/11 season. Following the success of the loan spell, Mannone would return for a second Hull loan in January of 2012 before making the permanent move to Sunderland in 2013.
The 6ft 2" keeper would go on to make 80 appearances for Sunderland before moving to Reading in the summer of 2017. Following a two-year stint with the Royals, Vito returned to the continent and enjoyed spells at Esbjerg FB, AS Monaco, FC Lorient and Lille before departing at the end of the 2025/26 season.
More recently, Mannone has been working at Brighton & Hove Albion as an Academy Goalkeeper Coach and is a UEFA A GK Candidate.
Following his appointment, Mannone said: “I am delighted and proud to take on this role and can’t wait to meet everyone at the club and to start working with the staff and players. I’ll give everything to the cause and hope to pass on my experiences as a player, leading into a successful season.”
Head Coach Colin Kazim-Richards also commented: "To be able to add to my coaching staff, to the club, someone of Vito’s calibre is a credit in itself. His knowledge, his footballing experiences, playing at the highest level with some of the best coaches in terms of standards, what it actually takes and ideas coming from a country that creates amazing goalkeepers, has really taken us up another level.
"Vito comes with an intensity, and it's something I’m looking forward to in terms of creating a relationship and benefiting from his skills from a goalkeeper’s perspective, and also as a person. As soon as we spoke, I knew he was the right man, so I can’t wait to work with him.”