WhoScored.com's Martin Laurence takes a statistical look at the Premier League's top-performing keepers and reveals concerns for Joe Hart.
The debate as to who is the best Premier League goalkeeper has become more hotly contested this season as some number ones have come to the fore while the form of others have dropped.
In this piece, WhoScored.com will examine the vital statistics of those mad enough to play between the posts, looking closely at a battle for the England jersey that may not be as one-sided as most had believed.
A quick glance at the WhoScored ratings shows that the top keeper in the league this season has been David De Gea (6.99) and on closer inspection of his stats it isn't hard to see why. It is easy to say that the Spaniard will concede fewer goals (the third fewest in the division - 31) because of the quality in front of him but league leaders United have actually conceded more shots per game (13.1) than each of the rest of the top seven, and even Southampton.
Many pinpointed the first leg against Real Madrid as the night that De Gea really came of age in a United shirt but in truth he had been having an impressive campaign in the most part up to that point. Over his 20 league starts, the 22-year-old has faced 90 shots on target and made 70 saves. His overall save success rate is therefore 77.8% and the best of any first choice keeper in the league - Swansea's reserve stopper Gerhard Tremmel has saved just over 80% of the shots he has faced in 12 appearances.
It is obvious that most had Hart down as a shoo-in for the England number one jersey for years to come but Foster's decision to come out of retirement has come at a time when the 25-year-old has looked less convincing. It seems the West Brom keeper must have had some encouragement to change his mind from Roy Hodgson, and with the likes of Ruddy, Forster and Butland all on stand-by, Hart could be left scratching his head as to how to reassert his dominance over the position, rather than advertising shampoo.
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