Fantasy Football tips: three Premier League goalkeepers to sign, and three to avoid

Premier League football will resume in less than a month, and so as will normality, but until then there is still plenty of time to tinker with your Fantasy Football tactics.

Spending priorities may lie in the final third, as the likes of Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane are set to cripple many team’s £100m budgets, but the acquisition of a competent goalkeeper can prove fruitful as well.

There have been a number of high-profile signings between the sticks over the summer, and with three new teams entering the Premier League, there are plenty of fresh options to choose from.

It is crucial to be shrewd in the market when selecting players for your starting XIs; finding the right balance between a big-name signing who is guaranteed to reel in the points and the more low-profile hidden gems that may spring a surprise.

That said, Squawka have prepared a few Fantasy Football tips, with three Premier League goalkeepers to sign, and three to avoid.

Squawka’s goalkeeper Fantasy Football tips – the three to pick…

Rui Patricio (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Value: £4.5m

Price range: £

2016-17 points: 0

Why? One of the signings of the summer. Patricio has forged a reputation as one of Europe’s most proficient shot-stoppers in recent years, helping guide Portugal to European dominance two years ago in France.

Newly-promoted Wolves capitalised on the Sporting CP turmoil to capture Portugal’s No.1 shot-stopper, and make no mistake about it, this could prove to be one of the biggest signings in the club’s recent history.

At 30, the 6ft 2in ‘keeper is in the midst of his prime age between the sticks. He made 82 saves in Liga NOS last season, keeping 17 clean sheets in the process.

With a number of highly-coveted stars in the Wolves ranks, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side could prove hard to break down – they only conceded 39 goals en route to the Premier League last season – but Patricio also has the potential to rack up bonus points with plenty of saves and the occasional penalty stop.

Lukasz Fabianski (West Ham)

Value: £4.5m

Price range: £

2016-17 points: 157

Why? Lukasz Fabianski made the third-highest saves of any goalkeeper across Europe’s top five leagues last season.

In terms of value for money, it does not get any better than the Polish shot-stopper, as his points-per-£0.1m last term ranked a 3.49 – more than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League.

He also managed the second-most saves of any ‘keeper in the Premier League last season, though his efforts were not enough to keep Swansea in the league. Despite this, his performances in Wales have been heavily lauded since he joined the club in 2014.

Now at West Ham, the vastly experienced pro will surely go on to produce another season of exceptional displays.

David de Gea (Manchester United)

Value: £6m

Price range: £££

2016-17 points: 172

Why? David de Gea (18) kept more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper in the premier league last season.

Arguably the best goalkeeper in the world at present despite an underwhelming performance at the World Cup, the Spaniard will no doubt return to the Premier League in full form for the forthcoming campaign.

Under Jose Mourinho, Manchester United do not concede many goals but also invite De Gea to make plenty of saves. Their 28 goals conceded last season was one fewer than Man City, but they could have been expected to concede 38 based on Opta’s xG model; expect another campaign of clean sheets and high-profile performances from the Red Devils superstar.

…and the three to avoid

Petr Cech (Arsenal)

Value: £5m

Price range: ££

2016-17 points: 124

Why? Petr Cech conceded 48 goals last season, the second-highest number of any goalkeeper in the Premier League top 10.

His his points per £0.1m last term earned him 2.48 points, which is a shocking return for a ‘keeper of his quality, and while he may end up playing second fiddle to Bernd Leno, £5m would be a costly fee for a goalkeeper who will not guarantee you minutes or clean sheets.

Incredibly Arsenal also conceded 51 goals last term – 12 more than Burnley – and it has often been felt that the Czech gloveman’s dexterity between the sticks has waned significantly in recent seasons, as well as being left more exposed by the defence in front of him. Factor in his poor penalty record and he becomes an even less attractive proposition.

Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace) 

Value: £4.5m

Price range: £

2016-17 points: 99

Why? Wayne Hennessey only managed 99 Fantasy Football points, the lowest of any goalkeeper who played over 25 matches.

At £4.5m your money would certainly be better spent elsewhere, as Hennessey only returned 2.2 points per £0.1m last term, conceding 41 goals and only keeping seven clean sheets.

A mountainous shot-stopper, the Welshman is more than accomplished to produce stunning performances from time to time, but he has often come in for some criticism in south London, and with new recruit Vicente Guaita in the ranks, his starting berth is in serious jeopardy.

Neil Etheridge (Cardiff City)

Value: £4.5m

Price range: ££

2016-17 points: 0

Why? Newly-promoted clubs often struggle in the Premier League, and Cardiff could face a similar problem when they come up against some of the league’s high-hitters.    

Etheridge enjoyed a brilliant campaign with Cardiff City in the Championship last season, but with the club not able to boast the spending power of their newly-promoted counterparts, they may struggle to stay afloat next season.

Of course, last term witnessed all the promoted sides stay in the division, but that is a rarity, and while Neil Warnock is a vastly experienced Premier League coach, when the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool come to town, the Bluebirds may falter to their attacking prowess.

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