S
SEARCH
M
SM
Monday, March 16
/esi/1339/6_A_1_391551_0/index.html?art_id=391551&ESI

Analysis: Who should be England's first-choice goalkeeper?

:Headline: Analysis: Who should be England's first-choice goalkeeper?: ID:391551: from db_amp
Jordan Pickford failed to reach Bruno Fernandes' shot as United equalised following an early goal gifted to Everton by their goalkeeper David De David de Gea.
| 13d

Another error from Jordan Pickford in Everton's draw with Manchester United raised renewed questions over who should be England's first-choice goalkeeper.

Pickford failed to reach Bruno Fernandes' shot as United equalised following an early goal gifted to Everton by their keeper David De Gea.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the men putting pressure on Pickford – and, in one case, De Gea too – for a starting place.

Pope top of the stops

Nick Pope's clean sheet record boosts his England case (PA Graphic)

Keeping the opposition out remains the most important job for a goalkeeper and England boss Gareth Southgate will be keenly aware that Burnley's Nick Pope leads all Premier League goalkeepers with 11 clean sheets this season.

That is one more than Liverpool's Alisson Becker and two clear of the nearest English challengers, Dean Henderson and Ben Foster – indeed, in Europe's "big five" leagues, only Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois (12) has more than Pope.

Henderson has excelled on loan at Sheffield United, suggesting he may have a long-term role to play for his parent club Manchester United, while former international Foster's form has been crucial to Watford's resurgence after a woeful start to the season.

Pickford ranks fourth among English keepers but only joint-11th in the Premier League with six clean sheets, with four apiece for outside-chance candidates Tom Heaton (Aston Villa), Alex McCarthy (Southampton) and Aaron Ramsdale (Bournemouth).

Dean Henderson leads English keepers in save percentage while Jordan Pickford trails the pack (PA graphic)

Ramsdale ranks third in the Premier League with 95 saves, behind Newcastle's runaway leader Martin Dubravka (112) and Arsenal's Bernd Leno (97), but Henderson comes out on top in terms of save percentage.

The 22-year-old has faced 86 shots on target this season and let in just 22 goals for a save percentage of 74.4 – bettered only by Alisson, Tottenham's Hugo Lloris and Crystal Palace pair Vicente Guaita and Wayne Hennessey, with the latter playing just twice.

Pope (86 of 124) and Ramsdale (95 of 137) have each saved almost 70 per cent, with Pickford's 63 per cent rate also ranking below Foster, Heaton and McCarthy and 24th out of 35 keepers in this season's top flight.

'Pick' that out

Jordan Pickford lay prone on the ground as Bruno Fernandes' shot hit the net (Peter Byrne/PA)

The official Premier League website marks Pickford as being responsible for three errors leading to opposing goals this season and though Everton have won one and drawn two of the games in question, concerns remain.

The 25-year-old flapped at a Newcastle corner under pressure from Florian Lejeune before the defender scored the first of his two stoppage-time goals in the Magpies' stunning comeback at Goodison Park in January.

Two games later he allowed Christian Benteke's shot underneath him at the near post – a mistake Pickford himself labelled "disgusting" – though Everton still went on to beat Crystal Palace 3-1.

He admitted he was out of position as Fernandes' goal made it three from Pickford errors in Everton's last five games, and both club and country must hope it is just a short-term dip.

Henderson coming for De Gea?

David De Gea has made some high-profile errors (Martin Rickett/PA)

Earlier in the Everton-United game, the hosts took the lead when De Gea cleared the ball against onrushing striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin and saw it rebound straight into the net.

Like Pickford, De Gea was committing his third "error leading to a goal" in this season's premierleague.com statistics – most notably letting a shot from Watford's Ismaila Sarr squirt straight through his hands at the near post in December.

Henderson had his own horror moment against Liverpool in September, allowing Georginio Wijnaldum's winner through his arms and legs, but has responded well and recently told Sport24's Kelly and Wrighty Show that his "big dream" is to break into the United first team.

Leading De Gea in clean sheets, goals conceded and save percentage and with only that one costly error marked against his name, Henderson is building a strong case to achieve that aim.

amp_article_391551 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-03-02 17:36:33:
html db last update - 2020-03-15 15:20:32 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Share this article now:
Show comments
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool29271166214582
2Manchester CityMan City28183768313757
3Leicester CityLeicester29165858283053
4Chelsea29146951391248
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd29129844301445
6Wolverhampton WanderersWolves29101364134743
7Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd28111073025543
8Tottenham HotspurSpurs29118104740741
9Arsenal2891364036440
10Burnley29116123440-639
11Crystal Palace29109102632-639
12Everton29107123746-937
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2998122541-1635
14Southampton29104153552-1734
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton29611123240-829
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2976163550-1527
17Watford2969142744-1727
18Bournemouth2976162947-1827
19Aston Villa2874173456-2225
20Norwich CityNorwich2956182552-2721
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Bundesliga Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Bayern MunichBayern25174473264755
2Borussia DortmundDortmund25156468333551
3RB Leipzig25148362263650
4Borussia MonchengladbachBorussia M'bach25154649301949
5Bayer LeverkusenB. Leverkusen25145645301547
6Schalke 04Schalke2591063336-337
7Wolfsburg259973430436
8Freiburg2510693435-136
9Hoffenheim25105103543-835
10FC Koln25102133945-632
11Union BerlinUnion Berlin2593133241-930
12Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt2484123841-328
13Hertha Berlin2577113248-1628
14Augsburg2576123652-1627
15Mainz 052582153453-1926
16Fortuna DusseldorfDusseldorf2557132750-2322
17Werder Bremen2446142755-2818
18SC PaderbornSC Paderborn2544173054-2416
Scroll for more - Tap for full version
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
X

We value your privacy

A part of our GDPR compliance we need to ask for your consent. We and our partners use technology such as cookies on Sports Mole to personalise content and ads, provide social media features, and analyse our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology on Sports Mole.