Ranking the 10 best goalkeepers in the Premier League | OneFootball

The Premier League has always been notorious for great men between the sticks. The likes of Peter Schmeichel, Petr Cech, Edwin van der Sar, David Seaman and Jens Lehmann all come to mind when thinking of the all-time greats. But right now, we're at a time when we are truly blessed with some of the finest array of goalkeeping talent the league has ever seen. We've seen the position evolve so much, and now it isn't just the art of saving that makes a goalkeeper very talented, but the way he commands his area and his technique with the ball at his feet.

There was a lot of movement in the summer transfer window when it comes to the goalkeeping department, with Brentford, Burnley, Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, Brighton, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur all having a new first-choice shot-stopper from the 2022/23 campaign. This does throw a spanner in the works when looking at goalkeepers in a stable environment with a strong amount of credit in the bank, as almost half of the Premier League have new keepers. From World Cup winners to players with no top-flight experience whatsoever - the league has it all.

GIVEMESPORT has taken on the tough task of looking at the current crop of goalkeepers and ranking the top 10 from worst to best.

Ranking factors

The factors taken into consideration are as follows:

While some of these fields can be a bit more subjective, such as a player's importance to their team, others can be backed up with facts. Clean sheets, for example, can be a statistic given in black and white, but then it has to be considered how good the defence in front of the goalkeeper is. Some goalkeepers on the list below are international level shot-stoppers and this is also important to take into account, as one man in particular made a huge contribution to his national side in late 2022.

Goalkeepers are asked to carry out a very different job in the modern day, with managers demanding that their number one is comfortable with the ball at his feet. This is a factor that previously wouldn't have been considered in years gone by, but is now a must. Perhaps the most important of all, we must look at how good each man is at keeping the ball out of the net!

10 Jordan Pickford

First up on our list is Everton and England's number one - Pickford. The ever-passionate goalkeeper certainly has his critics, but he's proven time and time again over the years just what a reliable presence between the sticks he is. Pickford has arguably one of the greatest boots of a ball in the league, which has proven mightily useful for the Toffees over the years. And he was a big reason why Everton avoided relegation in both 2021/22 and 2022/23.

He made some critical saves at pivotal moments, particularly a few in Everton's draw to Manchester City. Only three other goalkeepers made more saves than Pickford in the prior campaign, but he will hope to come under less pressure over the course of the 2023/24 campaign. Pickford is a very divisive goalkeeper, but his ability to keep a firm hold of the England number one spot shows that he is actually a good keeper.

9 Bernd Leno

Next up, we have someone who has found a new lease of life after leaving Arsenal. Leno found himself out of favour when Aaron Ramsdale joined the club in 2021, and he made the switch to Craven Cottage last year. He went on to have an excellent campaign with Fulham, putting in some excellent performances between the posts. His saves away to Leicester City in particular were crucial to his side getting a 1-0 result in January 2022.

He was arguably the most underrated signing of the 2022/23 campaign and a key reason why Fulham were able to finish 10th in the table. Marco Silva will be hoping that the 31-year-old can continue to build on his success and provide his team with the platform to go one better this year. The start of the next campaign may have been a struggle for the Cottagers, but Leno's ability in between the sticks has never been highlighted as a cause for concern.

8 Aaron Ramsdale

We are arguably being very harsh here by only giving Ramsdale eighth place. Many eyebrows were raised when Arteta splashed £28 million on the Sheffield United man back in 2021, but it's safe to say that he firmly proved the doubters wrong in his first two seasons at the Emirates.

The 25-year-old has established himself as a commanding figure in a phenomenal, youthful Arsenal setup, playing a key part in helping them push Manchester City all the way for the title in 2022/23. His fantastic attitude on and off the pitch also resulted in numerous England call-ups - including a spot in Gareth Southgate's World Cup 2022 squad. Why isn’t he higher? We will get onto it soon, but Ramsdale was shockingly replaced as the Arsenal number one by Arteta in the early stages of the 2023/24 campaign.

7 Guglielmo Vicario

In previous years, Hugo Lloris would be a solid choice for a top 10 Premier League goalkeeper list. The French keeper has been replaced as the number one at Tottenham, however, as the 2018 World Cup winner hasn't been seen in action since the end of the 2022/23 season. Vicario is the new man in town, as Spurs made the decision to change their first-choice goalkeeper for the first time in over a decade. The former Empoli man has endured a strong start to life in the Premier League, showing a combination of solid shot-stopping abilities, as well as being adept at playing the role of sweeper-keeper.

The Italian still has a long way to go until he reaches the level that his predecessor managed to hit at his very best, and until he competes with the top names on this list. We still feel it is fair for him to make it into the top 10 after a strong showing in his opening months with the North London club.

6 Andre Onana

Manchester United fans will certainly think that their new recruit deserves to be higher on this list. And to be fair, he might yet jump one or two places as the season goes on. Onana had an incredible year with Inter Milan after joining in 2022. He ended the year with an Italian Cup and an Italian Super Cup too, while also playing a vital role in helping his side get to the Champions League final.

No goalkeeper in the competition kept more clean sheets than the 27-year-old’s tally of eight, and he wowed viewing fans with his performance in the final, especially with his incredible distribution on the night. United fans will be slightly underwhelmed with the Cameroonian's performances to date, with multiple errors costing his side results in both the league and Champions League. Perhaps when Erik ten Hag's defence is more settled, Onana will regain his confidence and show the form he did at the San Siro.

5 David Raya

Former Brentford number one Raya has established himself as one of the league’s best during his time in the top flight. Playing every game under Thomas Frank in the league in his final season with the Bees, and the Spaniard was a key reason why his side finished ninth in the table.

He recorded the third-highest clean sheet total in the league for that campaign, made the most saves in the division, and had the highest save percentage out of any goalkeeper too. Not bad at all. The 28-year-old joined Arsenal on loan for the 2023/24 season. Mikel Arteta now has two supremely talented goalkeepers at the club, and Raya swiftly took over from Ramsdale as the first choice keeper.

4 Nick Pope

Pope was arguably one of the signings of the 2022/23 season. Newcastle United were desperate for a competent number one for a few years after Martin Dubravka lost some of his form. They opted to sign the former Burnley man in the 2022 summer transfer window, with the English giant filling the void superbly and becoming an instant fan favourite. In his 37 league games for the Magpies during his debut campaign, the 31-year-old kept an impressive 14 clean sheets, helping his team finish with the joint-best defence in the league.

He was a big reason why Newcastle were able to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2003. He might make a mistake now and then, like his famous moment of madness against Liverpool during the 2022/23 season, but for the most part, he is solid and dependable between the posts at St James’ Park. Pope may have finished even higher on the list, had It not been for the goalkeepers above him being a lot more comfortable with the ball at their feet.

3 Emiliano Martínez

The man to have won a World Cup in 2022 makes it into the top three. It would just feel wrong to have him any lower down. The Argentine number one made an incredible last-ditch save in the World Cup final to deny France from stealing the win at the death, before then going on to star in the penalty shoot-out. Another Arsenal 'reject' - in the same ilk as Leno - Martinez moved to Aston Villa in the summer of 2020, with his career looking somewhat on a downward spiral after falling out of favour at the Emirates. How wrong we were.

Flash forward to the modern day - he's a champion of the world, is a World Cup Golden Glove winner, and is a hero within his nation too. On top of that, he is adored by Villa fans after helping to propel Unai Emery’s squad to a seventh-place finish in 2022/23. Not bad for an Arsenal reject.

2 Ederson

Just missing out on that number one spot is Manchester City's marvellous Brazilian. Ederson has been a revelation at the Etihad after joining in 2017. The Citizens struggled in the early Pep Guardiola era, partly because they were missing a suitable shot-stopper. Guardiola's style of play required a keeper who couldn't just save shots, put spray passes, start attacks and provide assists.

City decided to submit a £34.9 million bid to Benfica for Ederson in 2017 for what looked like the ideal candidate. And they've been a match made in heaven ever since. Ederson has been instrumental in City's Premier League dominance over the years and continued to perform last year as they completed a brilliant treble. Still only 29, you would imagine that he will continue to reign as number one for a good while longer.

The Brazilian international and Liverpool goalkeeper just had to be our number one. A similar story to that of Manchester City, Jürgen Klopp struggled to find the right man to fill the GK slot. Champions League heartbreak in the 2018 final against Real Madrid caused the Reds to bite the bullet and splash big cash on Alisson.

We can now safely say, with hindsight to our advantage, that it was certainly money well spent. Allison has provided an ever-calming presence at Anfield and has solidified his position as not just the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, but up there with the best in world football. Silverware has arrived back at Liverpool with the 30-year-old as the number one, including a Premier League and Champions League trophy. And while his side were not at their best in 2022/23, their goalkeeper continued to shine, picking up a well-deserved Player of the Year award for his efforts. Simply the best.

Alisson is one of very few goalkeepers to have scored in the Premier League, as the Brazilian scored a heroic header in 2020/21 against West Brom to help Liverpool qualify for the Champions League in the following campaign. The start of the 2023/24 season has been yet another example of his brilliance as the shot-stopper is often called upon to make some outrageous saves to keep Jürgen Klopp's side in games.