There will be a lot of signings made over the coming years and it will be an exciting summer transfer window. The club could look to recruit a new goalkeeper and this is one of the most difficult positions to bring in. With outfield players, if a signing doesn’t fit, they can drop to being a squad player or move on. With a goalkeeper, it can be difficult to rectify an error, as Chelsea have found with Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Dean Henderson has been heavily linked for months and it could be that he is signed to compete with Martin Dubravka. Below, we will discuss four alternative choices to be our next goalkeeper.
Jose Sa – Wolves
Wolves managed to push for European qualification this season and their star player has been goalkeeper Jose Sa. There were some doubts about his quality when he was signed to replace Rui Patricio. However, he has proven himself in the Premier League and emerged as one of the best goalkeepers in the division.
Based on the quality of shots he has faced, Sa has prevented 9.2 goals more than the average keeper would be expected to stop. To provide context, the next best in the league was David De Gea with 6.7 goals prevented. Dubravka prevented 4.1.
Sa is a modern day keeper capable of completing defensive actions outside of his area, with an average of 1.1 actions per ninety minutes. He is also competent at controlling his area with 10.8% crosses stopped by his actions. For these two stats, he ranks in the 91st and 88th percentiles among keepers.
The price for Sa would likely prove prohibitive and he is unlikely to be on our list of targets, but he is one I would look at if I was involved in recruitment.
Alexander Nubel – Bayern Munich (on loan at AS Monaco)
It has been an excellent season for Alexander Nubel at Monaco, as he is starting to fufil the potential he showed as a young keeper. His biggest issue has been he hasn’t been able to displace Manuel Neuer and that has led to his career stalling.
Nubel is one year into a two-year loan at Monaco and he has performed as one of the best keepers in Ligue 1. There is a break clause in the loan that Bayern could activate. If they agreed a permanent transfer for him, that could be completed this summer.
This season, Nubel prevented 6.5 goals more than expected based on the quality of shots he faced. He ranked highest in Ligue 1 for this metric.
One issue for Nubel is that he has never been fully convincing in the air and that would be a weakness that is exposed in England.
At the age of 25, he could develop into one of the best keepers in Europe. Bayern saw that potential in him and it could be a shrewd pick up for us.
Luis Maximiano – Granada
There have been several good Portuguese keepers plying their trade in Europe over recent seasons. Luis Maximiano is an excellent young talent at the age of 23. He featured for Sporting before his move to Granada, but it has been his full season in La Liga that has been most helpful to his development.
Like the others in the list, he is an excellent shot stopper, who keeps out more shots than the average keeper. Maximiano prevented 5.1 goals based on the quality of shots he faced in the recent season.
Maximiano is effective at playing out from the back and he likes to play as a sweeper keeper. Last season, he averaged 1.18 defensive actions outside his area per ninety minutes.
At 23, he has a lot of time to grow and the experience he already has will benefit him if he were to move to the Premier League. Granada were relegated in Spain this season, which means he should be available for a cut price fee. It could be a shrewd move with high upside.
Diogo Costa – Porto
Another promising Portuguese keeper is Porto’s Diogo Costa. He has helped Porto to the Portuguese league title and he has experience in the Champions League. During the last year, he has made three appearances for Portugal.
Costa is an excellent distributor, who regularly gets involved in building play from the back. His average of 51.9 touches per ninety minutes places him in the 98th percentile among goalkeepers. Howe will want a keeper that is comfortable with the ball at his feet.
Unlike the other three keepers, Costa doesn’t thrive in the shot stopping statistics. Although the data is limited for the Portuguese leagues.
As well as his confidence on the ball, he likes to leave his area to play a sweeper keeper role.
At the age of 22, he could be a great signing for the future.
