The goaltending situation for every Premier League club

Arsenal went from unhappy about its goaltending situation to very happy in the course of one year. Prior to the 2023-24 season, the Gunners brought in David Raya on a loan from Brentford. He swiftly pushed Aaron Ramsdale aside and made 32 Premier League starts, crucial to the club’s success. To the surprise of nobody, Arsenal made that loan a permanent transfer, so Raya will be the guy. If Ramsdale moves on, Arsenal will have no real depth behind Raya, but right now this is perhaps the Premier League’s best goaltending situation.

It speaks to the financial power of the Premier League that Aston Villa has the money to employ Emiliano Martinez, the number-one keeper for Argentina, as its number-one keeper. Martinez has been in that role for four seasons, and this will be his fifth. Playing in the Champions League, Villa might rotate more in, say, cup play, with veteran backup Robin Olsen the likely choice there.

When your club employs a keeper as captain, you can trust that said keeper is comfortable in their role. Neto is Bournemouth’s skipper, and the Brazilian will be in the goal whenever feasible. Based on when Neto missed a bit of time last year, Mark Travers is likely the second choice, but Bournemouth did just bring the 22-year-old New Zealander Alex Paulsen over from his home country.

Well, David Raya isn’t walking through that door, that’s for sure. Dutch keeper Mark Flekken stayed 37 Premier League games last season, and he’s still around. Brentford is a club known for its interest in statistical analysis and trying to find value on the market, so it is interesting that outside of Flekken it solely employs young keepers. Is the heir apparent in the mix?

Last season, Brighton used keeper Bart Verbruggen and Jason Steele almost evenly. We doubt that happens this year. One, Verbruggen was decidedly better than Steele. Two, while Steele was chilling this summer, his 21-year-old Dutch counterpart was starting for the Netherlands during Euro 2024. After that, how do you avoid making Verbruggen the guy in goal?

Chelsea remains a club of swirling chaos. Last year, Brighton’s former keeper Robert Sanchez and also Djordje Petrovic shared the role. They are both on the roster, but so is Kepa Arrizabalaga, back from a one-year loan to Real Madrid. Oh, and this summer Chelsea spent over £20 million to bring young Dane Filip Jorgensen over from Villarreal. Not chaotic enough? Chelsea has a new manager…again. We have no clue what direction Chelsea’s goaltending situation will go. It could find success, it could find struggle, it all feels plausible.

Both Sam Johnstone and Dean Henderson are keepers who came up with Manchester United but never found footing there. They have both been on the England roster, but barely played. Also, Johnstone made 20 starts for Crystal Palace last season, while Henderson made 18. Of course, Oliver Frank took over late in the year, managing the club for 13 games. He may have different plans in terms of goaltending usage.

We don’t have to spend much time on Everton. If Jordan Pickford is healthy, he’s in the net for any Premier League game. He was Everton’s MVP last season. He played every minute for England during Euro 2024. Nobody’s role is as set in stone as Pickford’s (so much so we have no clue what Everton would do if he missed time).

Germany’s Bernd Leno has not had the same success as Pickford, but his role is no less secure. He too made all 38 starts for his club, in this case Fulham. Leno made 36 starts the year before that. Fulham banks on Leno being there for it, with Steven Benda the emergency option.

Stopping Premier League players from scoring is much harder than stopping Championship players. Burnley and Sheffield United showed that last year. Vaclav Hladky may agree with that. He was Ipswich’s keeper as the club earned promotion, but he decided to leave Ipswich for…Burnley, freshly relegated. On the flip side, Aro Muric left Burnley for Ipswich to stay in the Premier League. He’ll likely be the guy, but keep an eye on Cieran Slicker, a former Manchester City prospect still waiting for his first shot.

Leicester, like Ipswich, is freshly promoted, but its story is quite different. This is a club that not all that long ago won the Premier League, and was always expected to be one-and-done in the Championship. As such, a lot of Premier League-level players stuck around. Indeed, Danny Ward is still around, but if you weren’t watching Leicester in the Championship, you might not realize the Welsh international lost the starting role. The club brought in young Dane Mads Hermansen from Brondby, and he started 44 games. He just turned 24 this summer, so consider us intrigued about his potential as a bright light at the Premier League level.

Alisson is one of the best keepers in the world. When he’s not available, Caoimhin Kelleher is one of the better backups out there. It might be hard for Liverpool to keep Kelleher around forever, he’s got the talents (and relative youth) to be a number-one, but for now, Liverpool has to be happy with its situation.

City managed to win the Premier League (and make it to the FA Cup final) even with Ederson dealing with injury issues. That’s because Stefan Ortega stepped in and didn’t mess things up. Unlike Kelleher, Ortega has pretty much found his ceiling as “viable backup,” and of course City has plenty of money to keep two keepers happy. Ederson and Ortega have clear roles that they are both fully capable in.

United is still remaking its roster, but it already landed on its keeper. Last season, the club said goodbye to David de Gea and brought in Andre Onana from Inter Milan. Onana frustrated many Man U fans, but to be fair Man U has a frustration-heavy fan base. The Cameroonian international started all 38 Premier League games, though, and with Erik ten Hag back, it seems quite clear Onana is the guy.

In spite of the influx of cash, Newcastle actually took a step back last season. Issues in goal played a key role in that. Veterans Nick Pope and Martin Dubravka both struggled. And yet, both are back, with nobody brought in yet to challenge either guy. Pope was much better in the 2022-23 season, when Newcastle qualified for the Champions League. It would seem the team is betting on improved form from him.

As Forest fought to avoid relegation, American keeper Matt Turner ceded the net to Belgian Mats Selz. With Selz in goal, Forest avoided relegation, but honestly Turner played better than his counterpart (he was absolutely peppered with shots, while the defense was kinder to Selz). While both netminders return, manager Nuno Espirito Santo took over during the 2023-24 season, and the next thing we all knew, Selz was his guy. That probably tells us a lot about the plans for this year.

While Southampton is freshly promoted, there is no question about the goaltending situation. Gavin Bazunu was the club’s top keeper in 2022-23, when it got relegated. He was also in that role last season, when it got promoted. All that, and the Irish international is only 22. Bazunu is a young, promising keeper who has already played a ton for a guy his age. The club also has a veteran backup in Alex McCarthy, just in case.

It turns out, replacing club legend Hugo Lloris wasn’t terribly tough for Tottenham. Spurs signed Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli. He started all 38 Premier League games for Tottenham. Vicario clearly has the number-one role, which he has earned, with veteran Fraser Forster still around in the backup role, a role he had under Lloris as well.

West Ham was not content to have two question marks in net. No, it figured, “Why not add a third question mark in net?” Even keepers can’t play forever, and Lukasz Fabianski ceded time to Alphonse Areola last season. Fabianski is 39 now, whereas PSG gave up on Areola. However, also added into the mix is Wes Foderingham. He was Sheffield United’s number-one keeper the last three seasons, and played for Rangers before that. Areola likely has the edge, but with David Moyes out, we shall see.

Wolves is no longer “the club with all the Portuguese players,” but that influx of Iberian talent has kept things stable in goal. Jose Sa has been the guy for the club for a few seasons. When he’s not been able to play, Daniel Bentley has stepped in. Both are still around, and both clearly have their roles.