Our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) 2023/24 end-of-season awards are up and running, with the poll for best goalkeeper open for voting in this article and on the sidebar.
We’ll be assessing the key candidates in each position in four separate articles. We start with the men between the sticks here.
Overall score, points per match and value in FPL were all factors we considered when compiling this shortlist. The rest we’ll leave up to you.
It certainly wasn’t a vintage year for shot-stoppers.
Last season, seven goalkeepers scored over 135 points. This time around, there was only one. Even then, Jordan Pickford‘s (£4.8m) total of 153 would only have been fifth best in 2022/23.
The Everton man may take some beating in our vote – but here are the five runners and riders.
JORDAN PICKFORD
- Points: 153
- Points per match: 4.0
- Start cost: £4.5m
- End cost: £4.8m
When you consider that Everton only mustered four points from their first seven matches, did not collect their first clean sheet until Gameweek 8 and went on a 13-match winless, mid-season streak, Pickford’s status as the highest-scoring goalkeeper in FPL is little short of miraculous.
Of goalkeepers with more than 10 starts, only David Raya (£5.2m) bettered his points-per-match ratio of 4.0.
The England international was still in the running for the Golden Glove – the prize awarded for the most clean sheets – until Gameweek 36.
While Raya was protected by the best defence in the division, Pickford had to pull out all the stops – quite literally – to help Everton avoid relegation. He made 121 saves, compared to Raya’s 46, to earn 29 save points – ranking him joint-sixth.
Pickford was unbeaten for bonus points (22) and double-digit returns (four), placing second for clean sheets (13). At 31.9 points per million, he was also FPL’s ‘best-value’ goalkeeper.
He was Everton’s leading points scorer in FPL with 153 points – 29 more than second-placed Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.5m).
DAVID RAYA
- Points: 135
- Points per match: 4.2
- Start cost: £5.0m
- End cost: £5.3m
There was some scepticism among FPL managers at the outset of the season as to whether or not Raya would be a regular starter in goal ahead of Aaron Ramsdale (£4.5m). Mikel Arteta even hinted at one point that he might look to make goalkeeping substitutions during matches.
Raya, indeed, didn’t make his first Arsenal start until Gameweek 5.
Arsenal had recorded just one clean sheet in the opening four matches, with Ramsdale between the sticks.
But as the campaign gathered momentum, Arsenal started to tighten up at the back.
The best defence in the country conceded only 29 goals all season, resulting in a raft of clean sheets for the Brentford loanee. There were 16 shutouts in all for Raya (18 for Arsenal overall), three more than his closest challenger Pickford.
Raya also managed a penalty save, although so good was the Gunners’ backline that his save points total was reduced to five.
Among goalkeepers to make at least 10 appearances, the Spaniard collected the best average of 4.2 points per match.
He finished as the second-highest points-scoring goalkeeper in FPL.
ALPHONSE AREOLA
- Points: 116
- Points per match: 3.7
- Start cost: £4.0m
- End cost: £4.2m
A generous starting price in a side with hopes of kicking on in 2023/24 made Areola one of the most popular selections at the start of the season.
West Ham started well, too, with three wins in four undefeated matches. Areola rewarded managers with a penalty save for a double-digit return in the 3-1 win over Chelsea in Gameweek 2.
However, the Hammers’ defence suffered for the loss of Declan Rice (£5.5m) to Arsenal. Without that protective shield in front of him, Areola was only able to keep a miserable four clean sheets, placing him 14th among ‘keepers.
However, this greater exposure to shots on goal kept the Frenchman busy.
His 140 saves were the third-most of any goalkeeper, a feat all the more impressive given that injury restricted Areola to only 30 appearances.
The Hammers keeper’s 39 save points were also the best in the division.
Areola’s average of 3.7 points per start was just 0.1 behind Nick Pope (£5.3m) and Alisson (£5.7m), who were both £1.5m more expensive at the start of the season.
A figure of 27.6 points per million ranked him third among ‘keepers for value – not bad for someone playing behind the fourth-worst defence in the Premier League.
BERND LENO
- Points: 133
- Points per match: 3.5
- Start cost: £4.5m
- End cost: £4.8m
Leno is the perfect example of why it doesn’t generally pay to splash out on premium goalkeepers. Opting for a shot-stopper more likely to collect save points than clean sheets can generally prove more cost-effective. That said, Leno somehow managed to achieve the best of both worlds.
Starting out at £4.5m and playing for a team as likely to be dragged into a relegation battle as mount a top-seven charge, his returns were highly impressive.
The German’s 10 clean sheets were the fourth-most of any goalkeeper and just one fewer than Ederson (£5.5m), who started off the season £1.0m more expensive.
Leno was called upon to make 136 saves, the fourth most of any goalkeeper.
Fulham’s no. 1 accumulated 133 points, making him the club’s highest-scoring player and the joint-third highest-scoring goalkeeper in FPL.
At 27.7 points per million spent, he ended up being the second-most value-for-money ‘keeper in the game after Pickford.
ANDRE ONANA
- Points: 133
- Points per match: 3.5
- Start cost: £5.0m
- End cost: £5.0m
Level on points with Leno was Onana.
One of the most popular goalkeepers at the start of the season, there were high hopes for Manchester United’s marquee signing from Inter Milan.
He started well enough, with a nine-point return in Gameweek 1. That said, quite how he got away with clattering into Sasa Kalajdzic in injury time of the 1-0 win over Wolves remains a mystery.
There would only be eight more clean sheets to come for Onana but that can hardly be blamed on the Cameroon international, who was left exposed for much of the campaign by a wretched and injury-depleted defence.
And in a season in which shutouts were hard to come by anyway, nine clean sheets was actually a decent haul.
Only Sheffield United conceded more than Man Utd’s 667 shots all season, which did at least enable Onana to rack up the save count.
Indeed, United’s no. 1 made more saves (150) than any goalkeeper in the division. That gave him 37 save points, a figure that only Areola could better.
Onana proved to be Man Utd’s second-highest points scorer behind only Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m).
