Chelsea goalkeeper targets: Analyzing six players against current crop
By Travis Tyler
4. Dean Henderson is surely going to be Manchester United’s starter next season
Dean Henderson has been on loan at Sheffield United from Manchester United for two seasons now. In that time, David De Gea’s star has only faded more and more and it appears that the Englishman has a very strong and real chance of replacing him next season. Chelsea is linked, but it would require the player instigating the move and United not completely jacking up the price because it is Chelsea.
It is easy to understand why they would. Henderson’s made 76.6 percent of his saves to a post shot xG of 0.31. His passing percentage of 29.4 percent is not great but so much of that is affected by style of play. He is also only claiming 7.7 percent of crosses into the box, probably because Sheffield’s defenders are owning them all before he can get to it.
Saves alone would make him an improvement on Arrizabalaga, but he is not so far ahead in any other category that Chelsea must start negotiating with Manchester United. He is surely going to give De Gea a run for his money next season, but that does not mean Chelsea should pull the trigger on a transfer.
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5. With Jan Oblak, all things are possible
Jan Oblak being one of the best keepers in the world, if not the best, should come as no surprise to many. Chelsea allegedly wanted him back when they got Arrizabalaga but the player was not interested. Two years on, the Blues seem willing to try once again to entice the keeper to wear blue.
Oblak, quite simply, saves goals. The only time his save percentage has ever fallen below 60 percent in a competition was last year’s Champions League. Over the entire course of his career it sits at a whopping 78.4 percent. And while it helps that Atletico Madrid is historically one of the most defensive sides, a post shot xG of 0.22 in La Liga is phenomenal. Meanwhile, he is completing about 40 percent of his passes over distance. Strangely, he does not claim many crosses with his percentage just above five.
For the most part, Oblak seems the surest thing of any of the keepers linked. But at the same time, it may be hard to separate his stats from Atletico Madrid’s style over time. He can obviously do it in that set up, but can he do it just as well with the team a little more open ahead of him? He has never been given a reason to be tested in that way so it is an open question.