The Pride of London
Fansided

Chelsea goalkeeper targets: Analyzing six players against current crop

By Travis Tyler

Chelsea's Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga looks on during the English Premier League football match between Sheffield United and Chelsea at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, northern England on July 11, 2020. (Photo by Rui Vieira / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by RUI VIEIRA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea's Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga looks on during the English Premier League football match between Sheffield United and Chelsea at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, northern England on July 11, 2020. (Photo by Rui Vieira / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by RUI VIEIRA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next
chelsea, willy caballero
Chelsea’s Argentinian goalkeeper Willy Caballero (L) saves at the feet of Bayern Munich’s Polish striker Robert Lewandowski (R) during the UEFA Champion’s League round of 16 first leg football match between Chelsea and Bayern Munich at Stamford Bridge in London on February 25, 2020. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images) /

Chelsea is probably going to look for a new keeper this summer if possible. How do the targets stack up against the current crop of Blue keepers?

It is no secret that Chelsea need to improve between the sticks. Kepa Arrizabalaga is more of a sunk cost now than anything and Willy Caballero, though great in the FA Cup, is a bit too beyond the pale when it comes to keepers Chelsea should trust. The Blues have been linked to several targets, but how do they stand up to the current men between the sticks?

For the purposes of this, the main data that will be looked at will be save percentage, post shot xG per shot on target, passing completion percentage for passes greater than 40 yards, and crosses stopped. That should give a good indication of the keeper in possession and in set piece and open play scenarios. Unless otherwise stated, the stats are for the player’s respective domestic league this season.

1. The base line of Kepa Arrizabalaga and Willy Caballero

Looking at Arrizabalaga’s Chelsea career as a whole does him more favors than looking at this season in a vacuum. In his two seasons he has a save percentage of 64.7 percent, which makes his current numbers of 56.5 in the Premier League and 50 percent in the Champions League more damning. He is “good” for about 0.34 post shot xG per shot between the two big competitions. Arrizabalaga was also supposed to be good at playing the ball long, but a 42.2 percent completion rate says otherwise. And his ability to claim crosses is already known to be poor, but 7.4 percent poor may surprise some.

It should be noted up front that Caballero has a very small sample size. Overall he has about 62.7 percent save percentage on average between all competitions, but that has very wildly between each one. There is not post shot xG for the domestic cups, but in the Premier League he sits close to Arrizabalaga at 0.36 and in the Champions League it is all the way up at 0.5 (thank Bayern for that one). His passing completion tops out at just under 40 percent and he has yet to stop a single cross this season.

Overall, it is clear Chelsea needs an improvement. Arrizabalaga’s numbers are not great compared to most keepers, nor are Caballeros. The latter, at least, can claim his small sample size and call it good enough for a backup keeper. If either keeper stays next season, that is surely the spot they should remain in.

Home/Chelsea FC News