Who is the best goalkeeper to own in Fantasy?

The Scout delves into the data to assess the best goalkeeper options available to managers in 2024/25 Fantasy Premier League.

In general, managers in Fantasy prefer to spend as little as possible on goalkeepers. Budget 'keepers who offer plenty of save points and bonus points, as well as clean-sheet potential, have typically been the go-to option in seasons gone by.

However, cut-price goalkeepers have struggled to impress across the opening seven Gameweeks of 2024/25. Indeed, five of the seven top-scoring players in this position started the season priced at £5.0m or OVER.

That’s a complete reversal of what happened last season, when five of the seven top-scoring goalkeepers by the end of Gameweek 7 cost UNDER £5.0m.

Only two players - Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez (£4.7m) and Newcastle United’s Nick Pope (£5.0m) – have placed among the top seven performers over the first seven Gameweeks of BOTH 2023/24 and 2024/25.

Top-scoring 'keepers GW1-7, last two seasons

What’s particularly noticeable from the early 2023/24 standings is the absence of both Everton star Jordan Pickford (£4.8m) and Arsenal's David Raya (£5.6m), who went on to finish the season as the top-scoring goalkeepers in Fantasy.

Pickford had ZERO clean sheets and a mere 11 points at this time last season, while Raya – who didn’t make his Arsenal debut until Gameweek 5 – had only 16 points.

Indeed, compared with this time last season, Pickford and Raya have respectively amassed 14 and 20 points more in 2024/25.

What's the lesson?

This only serves to highlight the importance of affording more patience when it comes to picking your goalkeepers, and shows why managers are so typically reluctant to use transfers on this position.

It also indicates why moving for Liverpool No 2 Caoimhin Kelleher (£4.4m) is arguably not worth the bother, despite the injury absence of the Reds' first-choice 'keeper Alisson (£5.5m).

Granted, Liverpool have the league's best defence, with five clean sheets in seven outings, but with Alisson expected to return after the November international break, Kelleher is no more than a temporary solution, and a player who would need to be sold again before long.

Which budget goalkeepers are shaping up as this season's Pickford?

A breakdown of Pickford's points from last campaign highlights why clean sheets were only a part of his successful season.

He produced 13 shutouts, which earned him 52 points. But he more or less matched that total from save points and bonus points, for a combined 51 points.

Breakdown of Pickford's 23/24 season

A similar assessment of the 10 top-scoring goalkeepers who currently cost under £5.0m can help managers get a better indication of the players who are following the same pattern as Pickford in 2023/24.

Chelsea's Sanchez catches the eye here, with only eight of his 36 points coming from clean sheets. He has earned a combined 13 points from saves and bonus, in addition to a further five points from a penalty save.

Nottingham Forest's Matz Sels (£4.5m) is the closest to Pickford's 2023/24 points distribution, with his eight points from clean sheets near-identical to his combined seven points from saves and bonus.

Meanwhile, Pickford himself, along with Crystal Palace's Dean Henderson, Leicester City's Mads Hermansen (both £4.5m) and Ipswich Town's Arijanet Muric (£4.4m) have all produced TWICE the number of points from saves and bonus than they have from clean sheets.

All four have managed just one clean sheet - the equivalent of four points - in addition to eight points from saves and bonus.

The analysis also shows why Brentford's Mark Flekken (£4.5m) has been such a source of frustration for Fantasy managers. He has earned NINE save points - more than any other 'keeper - but has yet to keep a clean sheet.

On the upside, it's worth noting that Flekken's multiple saves mean that when he does record a shutout, he tends to produce big points hauls.

Flekken produced 53 points in the seven matches in which he kept a clean sheet in 2023/24, averaging 7.6 points per match (ppm).

But he managed only 66 points in the 30 matches in which he conceded, with that average plummeting to 2.2ppm.

Top-scoring sub-£5.0m goalkeepers, GW1-7

Are premium goalkeepers worth the extra?

When paying out extra for a goalkeeper, a regular return of clean sheets is the bare minimum managers should expect.

Manchester United's Andre Onana (£5.0m) and Liverpool's Alisson have kept their end of the bargain in that respect, with both producing four clean sheets and therefore earning 16 points. Yet in spite of their strong defensive displays, neither has really impressed for save points or bonus points, with a combined seven each. Essentially, then, their output so far has been too reliant on clean sheets alone.

Meanwhile, Manchester City's Ederson (£5.5m), Fulham's Bernd Leno and Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez (both £5.0m) have done little to merit consideration, with just a single clean sheet apiece.

But in the case of both Raya and Pope, the numbers suggest they are worth considering.

Arsenal's Raya has collected 12 points from his three clean sheets, in addition to 13 points from saves and bonus - more or less the same correlation Pickford provided last season.

When assessed against the 2023/24 campaign, when he collected the Golden Glove award with 16 clean sheets from 32 appearances, Raya's improvement when it comes to other routes to returns is quite remarkable. Not only has he already MATCHED his total of six bonus points, he has also BETTERED his five save points, producing seven in as many matches.

Raya averaged a save every 61.3 minutes last season, the SLOWEST of any goalkeeper in the league. But that has more than HALVED this time around, with the Spaniard's 24.2 minutes per save sandwiched in between the 23.7 minutes of Wolverhampton Wanderers' Sam Johnstone (£4.4m) and the 25.2 minutes of Ipswich's Muric.

If he continues at this pace, Raya looks set to comfortably finish the season as the top-scoring 'keeper in Fantasy.

Pope is another who has followed the 2023/24 Pickford pattern. Although he's managed two shutouts so far, he sits just four points behind Alisson due to his saves and bonus points.

Similarly to Raya, he fares incredibly well when compared with the previous campaign. Indeed, Pope's combined 10 points from saves and bonus is already identical to his TOTAL over his 15 appearances last season.

Breakdown of premium goalkeepers, GW1-7

So, who is the best goalkeeper to own?

If money is no option then Raya is easily the best goalkeeper to own. The Arsenal No 1 appears to offer far more than just clean-sheet potential this season and looks a great pick alongside Gabriel (£6.2m) as a double-up in Mikel Arteta's rearguard.

The Gunners do have a tough run of opponents over Gameweeks 9-11, though, and a move for Raya in Gameweek 12 may be the best tactic.

Newcastle's Pope looks the best premium alternative, with save points and bonus boosting his appeal considerably.

In the budget bracket, Chelsea's Sanchez and Nott'm Forest's Sels appear to be the most reliable judging by their displays so far.