Every Premier League back-up goalkeeper (ranked)

Highlights

• Having a reliable back-up goalkeeper is crucial for a successful season.
• Some second-choice goalkeepers in the Premier League lack the quality to play regularly at the highest level.
• Aaron Ramsdale, Stefan Ortega and Caoimhin Kelleher are among the best bench-warming shot-stoppers in the division.

Having a reliable back-up goalkeeper can make or break a club’s season. An injury or suspension to the number one ‘keeper can be the difference between survival and relegation, or becoming champions and finishing as runners-up.

Managers sometimes stumble upon more talented goalkeepers when their usual No. 1 is absent and the deputy steps in and puts on a clinic. One club in the Premier League has equal trust in both goalkeepers they employ and give both men a fair amount of playing time, but this is a rarity in the modern game.

From shot-stoppers who are too good to be on the bench, to ‘keepers who make you think about how their agent landed them a role at a Premier League club, let’s rank all 20 second-choice goalkeepers in the Premier League.

Ranking factors

• Appearances for the first-team.
• Effectiveness when called upon.
• Confidence of their manager.
• Support of the fan base.
• Previous history as a number one.
• Reliability.

20 Adam Davies

Club: Sheffield United

The Blades haven’t had a Premier League-level goalkeeper since Dean Henderson returned to Manchester United after his loan deal expired. Sheffield United’s limited budget since their return to the top flight has meant they haven’t been able to upgrade drastically across the first team.

Instead, they invested in positions their board felt were vital if they were to avoid the drop. So Wes Foderingham and Adam Davies remain the two senior goalkeepers at the club, with the latter having very little chance of sneaking into the starting line-up. With the number of shots the Blades face in each match, Davies may be thankful for the bench role he’s restricted to at Bramall Lane.

19 Joao Virginia

Club: Everton

Since joining Everton from Arsenal in 2018, Virginia has played just once for the Toffees in the Premier League. The 24-year-old made his Premier League debut in March 2021 in a 2-1 defeat to Burnley as he replaced an injured Jordan Pickford in the 47th minute. Virginia’s time at Everton has mostly been spent on loan at Reading, Sporting, and SC Cambuur.

Everton have enough problems to fix before they think about bringing in a more experienced number two. Jordan Pickford is a reliable figure between the sticks for Sean Dyche’s side and there’s little chance of the ex-Sunderland man coming out of the side. The 2023-24 campaign has seen Virginia occupy a place on the bench while the England number one continues to impress for the Toffees.

18 Dan Bentley

Club: Wolves

Bentley is known as a reliable keeper in the Championship, having played a total of 260 games in the competition between 2016 and 2023 for Brentford and Bristol City. He’s certainly a steady pair of hands if ever called upon to deputise for Jose Sa, though the Englishman is unlikely to pull up any trees.

The 30-year-old has played three times in the 2023/24 Premier League season at the time of writing, but the shot-stopper has only managed one clean sheet in those games. A 1-0 win against Burnley came in between defeats for Wolves against Arsenal and West Ham with Bentley in goal.

17 Marek Rodak

Club: Fulham

Marek Rodak has been at the Cottagers since he was 16 and has achieved two promotions from the Championship with Fulham during his time there. Rodak would easily be one of the best goalkeepers in the Championship, but he’s not quite at the level to be a great Premier League goalkeeper. Therefore, Bernd Leno has taken the reins as the undisputed number one.

It was the German’s arrival at the west London club from Arsenal in 2022 that saw Rodak drop out of the starting line-up, and it looks increasingly difficult for the Slovakian to reclaim his place in the side as Leno has impressed during his time at Craven Cottage to date.

16 Arijanet Muric

Club: Burnley

The Kosovo international was part of the Burnley team that stormed the Championship in the 2022/23 campaign, earning them a place back in the Premier League. It looked certain that Muric would retain his spot as first-choice goalkeeper but, instead, Vincent Kompany decided to look elsewhere and recruited 20-year-old James Trafford after being one of the players of the tournament at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Trafford hasn’t always been as impressive as he was expected to be, with the youngster struggling to deal with the physicality of the English top flight at times. Muric is probably one of the goalkeepers on this list that is knocking on the door of taking the number one spot back. The 25-year-old never really put a foot wrong for the Clarets, and he will be on standby should Trafford need to be pulled out of the firing line.

15 Ionut Radu

Club: Bournemouth

Romanian international Radu has been at Inter Milan for the majority of his career. However, his competition for a place in goal was against Samir Handanovic and Andre Onana, meaning he was loaned out for six separate times in his career.

His latest temporary move was to Bournemouth in the summer of 2023, but the ‘keeper has essentially swapped the bench at the San Siro for the one at the Vitality Stadium. Radu did put a string of games together when Neto was absent through injury towards the start of the season, although the Brazilian’s return to action saw Radu moved back into his back-up role.

14 Thomas Strakosha

Club: Brentford

Strakosha was Lazio’s number one goalkeeper before he moved to Brentford, so it would be expected that he would have played more than just the six appearances he has made so far for the Bees in all competitions. David Raya may have left Brentford at the start of the 2023/24 campaign, but Strakosha is still struggling to find minutes since Mark Flekken joined the club.

Flekken hasn’t been as good for Thomas Frank’s side as Raya was, with the Dutch shot-stopper only keeping four clean sheets from his first 25 Premier League appearances. It wouldn’t come as a shock to see Strakosha depart the club soon should he continue to be overlooked at Brentford.

13 Robin Olsen

Club: Aston Villa

Robin Olsen is a solid goalkeeper, representing Sweden on 66 occasions. He looked like one of the better goalkeepers at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which earned him a move to Roma. However, Olsen is nowhere near the ability of Aston Villa teammate and World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez, so he won’t be getting a chance to impress anytime soon.

The Swede has struggled to play out from the back in the few games he has played under Unai Emery. It’s important for most top teams to build up from the back and this could prove to be a sticking point for Olsen’s career at Villa Park going forward.

12 Matt Turner

Club: Nottingham Forest

Matt Turner joined Nottingham Forest to be the starting goalkeeper at the City Ground after the American found himself as the third choice at Arsenal. However, as has been the case with Forest in recent times, no player is safe from being replaced. Truner had an underwhelming opening six months with his new club and has now been dropped to the bench.

Matz Sels was signed in the January 2024 transfer window, making him the third ‘keeper signed by the club in one season after Turner and Odysseas Vlachodimos, who was brought in from Benfica. The Greek international now doesn’t even have a place on the substitutes’ bench, while Turner is the second choice for Nuno Espirito Santo.

11 Tim Krul

Club: Luton Town

Luton Town’s miraculous promotion to the Premier League was helped by on-loan USA international Ethan Horvath who has since returned to Nottingham Forest. The Hatters headed into their first season in the top flight with two options as back-ups for Thomas Kaminski in the form of James Shea and Tim Krul.

Both men look like they aren’t cut out to play regular football in the Premier League in 2024, although Krul is the man to usually take the back-up role due to his experience. The Dutchman was previously a solid and dependable goalkeeper for Newcastle and even Norwich City, but is well past his best now at 35 years old.

10 Robert Sanchez

Club: Chelsea

Chelsea have had issues in the goalkeeping department for several years now, having never adequately replaced Thibaut Courtois after the Belgian’s move to Real Madrid in 2018. Kep Arrizabalaga failed to live up to the hype that accompanied his world-record transfer fee, and the Spaniard actually left Stamford Bridge on loan to cover for the injured Courtois at Madrid.

Robert Sanchez was brought in from Brighton, and the deal raised a few eyebrows. The Spaniard had already lost his place in the Brighton team to Jason Steele under Roberto De Zerbi and it became clear why in his first few games for the Blues. Sanchez’s shot-stopping abilities weren’t up to standard and an injury suffered in a 2-0 defeat against Everton allowed Djordje Petrovic to step in and take his chance. The Serbian has been very good for the west London side and doesn’t look like he’ll be giving up his number one spot despite Sanchez’s return to fitness.

9 Altay Bayindir

Club: Manchester United

A lot of the fanfare at Old Trafford surrounded the goalkeeper position ahead of the 2023/24 season. However, this was due to the messy way Manchester United dealt with David De Gea’s contract situation. The long-serving Spanish international departed upon the expiry of his deal and Andre Onana was brought in from Inter Milan to replace him.

Erik ten Hag was also in the market for a second-choice ‘keeper and Altay Bayindir was signed from Fenerbache to fulfil this role. The Turkish international has only played once for the Red Devils – an FA Cup match against Newport County. He conceded two goals to the lower league opposition in a 4-2 win and hasn’t been seen on the pitch since.

8 Fraser Forster

Club: Tottenham

Guglielmo Vicario was signed from Empoli to take over from Hugo Lloris in goal for Tottenham ahead of Ange Postecoglou’s first season in the dugout. Lloris’ departure meant Fraser Forster has retained his place on the bench at the north London club. The 6ft 7in giant was once a fine goalkeeper for Celtic and Southampton.

After all, Forster was capped on six occasions for England and was a part of the Three Lions squad that went to the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 UEFA European Football Championships. However, Forster looks like his best years are behind him as he comes to terms with being the number two. The 35-year-old has looked awkward on the ball, which may be why he’s rarely trusted in goal.

7 Martin Dubravka

Club: Newcastle United

Not much was known about Dubravka before he joined the Tyneside club on loan from Sparta Prague in 2018. Two-and-a-half years later, the 6ft 3in Slovak was adored by the Newcastle faithful as he picked up the club’s Player of the Year award in 2020. Dubravka now finds himself on the bench at St. James’ Park after being replaced by Nick Pope.

He may be the back-up for the Magpies, but a long-term injury to Pope has allowed the Serb to find some form between the sticks. Dubravka is ahead of former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius in the pecking order and has been a solid enough option for Eddie Howe in Pope’s absence.

6 Lukasz Fabianski

Club: West Ham

Fabianski was the Irons’ first-choice ‘keeper up until the 2023/24 season, making 36 appearances in the Premier League and one in the FA Cup in the year prior. The ex-Poland international was a great mid-table goalkeeper in his last season as the starting number one at the London Stadium, ranking 10th in the Premier League for save percentage with 69.2% (according to FotMob), which is higher than the likes of Aaron Ramsdale (68.8%), Robert Sanchez (61.5%) and Ederon (59%).

Alphonse Areola has had some sticky moments as the Hammers’ number one so far, and it wouldn’t be a massive shock to see Fabianski regain his first-choice status in the squad before the final whistle of the campaign.

5 Dean Henderson

Club: Crystal Palace

Vicente Guaita was expected to be the number two at Crystal Palace, however, he “refused to play” for the south London club during pre-season and has yet to be named in a squad since. Speaking to Scandinavian broadcaster Viaplay, Palace manager at the time, Roy Hodgson, said: “He [Sam Johnstone] is the only choice at the moment because Guaita is disenchanted with the club and has said he would like to move on. He’s refused to play in our games so far.”

Upon the Spaniard’s refusal to sit on the bench, the Eagles dipped into the transfer market and signed Dean Henderson on loan from Manchester United. Despite not playing a lot of football over the past 12 months, the English ‘keeper is still extremely confident and talented, as shown by the first six months of his spell on loan at Nottingham Forest in the 2022/23 campaign. Henderson has had to fill in for his teammate several times already during his time at Selhurst Park and has done a good job.

4 Bart Verbruggen / Jason Steele

Club: Brighton

There was uncertainty about whether Jason Steele or new signing Bart Verbruggen would go into the season as the starting goalkeeper at Brighton. However, it looks like the two goalkeepers will both have their chance between the sticks. Roberto De Zerbi has been unconventional in the fact that he often rotates his goalkeeper depending on what he thinks suits each match best.

Verbruggen was signed from Anderlecht in 2023 and has the potential to be a standout goalkeeper for many years to come. In 2022/23, the Belgian was Anderlecht’s Player of the Season, and he’s made a reasonable start to life in the Premier League. It’s not really fair to class either man as the number two at the AMEX presently, so both make this list in the pursuit of fairness.

3 Caoimhin Kelleher

Club: Liverpool

As most Liverpool fans know, Kelleher is a very capable goalkeeper. Sadly, he has made more appearances at international level than he has in the Premier League. The 25-year-old Liverpool academy graduate may soon have to find first-team football as there is little chance he will ever dislodge Alisson from the number one spot.

While his game time may not be ideal, the Irishman provides a calm head in goal as he never appears fazed by any challenges thrown his way. Kelleher has been the hero for the Reds in two separate Carabao Cup finals against Chelsea. In both fixtures, he made some remarkable saves to keep his side level and even converted a penalty in Liverpool’s shootout success in 2022.

2 Stefan Ortega

Club: Manchester City

It was a close battle for second between Kelleher and Ortega, but the German slightly edges it as he never put a foot wrong over his 14 appearances during the 2022/23 season. City’s scouting department need another pat on the back as they picked Ortega up on a free transfer from Arminia Bielefeld.

Ortega featured in all competitions in the previous campaign for the Citizens, including their 2-1 win against Manchester United in the FA Cup. Similarly, the shot-stopper has played a handful of games in the league, Champions League and cup competitions in the first half of the 2023/24 season. The biggest compliment that can be paid to Ortega is that the drop-off when Ederson is unavailable to play isn’t noticeable at all. He would star for well over half of the teams in the Premier League.

1 Aaron Ramsdale

Club: Arsenal

Arsenal have had a few great back-ups in the goalkeeper department over the last couple of years, including Bernd Leno, Emiliano Martínez, David Ospina, and now Aaron Ramsdale. The England international was previously the first choice at the Emirates until David Raya was brought in on loan from Brentford.

Mikel Arteta hinted at the beginning of the 2023/24 season that there may be a lot of rotation between his goalkeepers, similar to how Brighton operate. However, it has been a more open-and-shut case than this to date. Raya has been the firm number on for Premier League and Champions League matches, while Ramsdale has filled in for domestic cup games. Both men have strong distribution and Ramsdale’s form wasn’t even notably bad at the start of the season, keeping two clean sheets from his five Premier League starts thus far.