No need to fret, Liverpool fans: you have a very capable back-up in Caoimhin Kelleher with Alisson out. Just be thankful you’re not Tottenham.
With Kelleher’s sudden starring role for Liverpool in mind, we have ranked every second-choice goalkeeper in the Premier League from worst to best.
Every Premier League second-choice goalkeeper ranked
20) Fraser Forster (Tottenham)
Forster was a fine goalkeeper in his pomp. We will leave it at that.
19) Steven Benda (Fulham)
My days as an Opta analyst are when I first came across Benda. Swindon Town were my assigned team and they were absolutely flying in League Two with Jerry Yates and Eoin Doyle up top. It was a simpler time.
Benda joined Swindon on loan from Swansea City for the 2019/20 campaign as a young whippersnapper trying to prove his worth to his parent club. A loan to Peterborough United came in January 2022 and in August 2023, Fulham signed him.
The German has played twice for the Cottagers – both in the Carabao Cup this season. They were knocked out 17-16 on penalties by Paul Heckingbottom’s Preston North End. It was a dismal shootout for both goalkeepers. Aston Villa loanee Kaine Kesler-Hayden had a spot-kick saved by Benda while Jorge Cuenca and Timothy Castagne cost the Premier League side.
18) Joao Virginia (Everton)
Everton fans really like Virginia, who has been around forever without getting game time. It must be a Portuguese thing (see Hilario).
17) Mark Travers (Bournemouth)
Also played for Swindon and has continued his role as second-choice at the Vitality with Neto swapped for Kepa Arrizabalaga as a starter. Travers played against Chelsea due to Kepa’s ineligibility and will get another Premier League chance when Bournemouth go to Stamford Bridge in January.
Travers is a pretty decent Championship goalkeeper but it is hard to see him dislodging Kepa, even if Kepa does quite a few Kepa things.
16) Danny Ward (Leicester City)
Ward, not Daniel Iversen, is Steve Cooper’s No. 2 for his first season at Leicester. The 31-year-old did not concede in any of his two Carabao Cup appearances this season and should continue that trend in the next round when his side face Manchester United at Old Trafford. Tranmere in the second round, Walsall in the third, and Man United in the fourth? Some clubs get all of the luck.
15) Christian Walton (Ipswich Town)
Matched his league appearance tally from last season on matchday one against Liverpool and did pretty well, which should fill Ipswich fans with some confidence if Arijanet Muric is unavailable.
14) Alex McCarthy (Southampton)
Will make anyone anxious when presented with the ball at his feet, as shown against Newcastle on matchday one. Russell Martin was wise to bring Aaron Ramsdale in and what an upgrade it is. We are not sure if it’s the right move for the player, mind.
13) Altay Bayindir (Manchester United)
Erik ten Hag’s reluctance to use the Turk is extremely alarming and detrimental in our eyes. We were shocked to see him in goal against Barnsley in the Carabobbins but it was really nice of Ten Hag to remember that Andre Onana is not his only goalkeeper.
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12) Martin Dubravka (Newcastle United)
Rival fans probably think Dubravka is a very good back-up goalkeeper but we are not so convinced. Is he bad? Nah. Does he have two hands? Yup. Can he kick the ball? Erm, not really. F**k it, middle of the road then.
Dubravka remains No. 2 despite Newcastle spending £20m on Odysseas Vlachodimos. It’s almost as if they didn’t want him and were only interested in a dodgy deal to avoid a PSR breach. Mad theory, we know.
11) Joe Gauci (Aston Villa)
Gauci has jumped ahead of Robin Olsen in the Villa pecking order and played in the Carabao Cup win at Wycombe in the third round.
There are high hopes for the Australian, who helped inspire a win over China in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday.
10) Hakon Rafn Valdimarsson (Brentford)
Brentford successfully hijacked Aston Villa and FC Copenhagen’s pursuits of 22-year-old goalkeeper Valdimarsson, who is now Iceland No. 1 having started their last nine matches, including the famous 1-0 win against England at Wembley in June.
Valdimarsson is clearly very highly rated and saving a late penalty when 1-0 up in the Carabao Cup second round was a perfect way to endear himself to the Brentford supporters. Mark Flekken, watch your back.
9) Matt Turner (Crystal Palace)
Couldn’t even get a game in the Carabao Cup for Palace. Was also an unused substitute when Nottingham Forest were knocked out by Newcastle.
Other than that, he’s actually OK.
8) Carlos Miguel (Nottingham Forest)
We were so excited to see Miguel that we put him in a team specifically for new players we were excited to see, but Nuno Espirito Santo has stuck with Matz Sels.
The Brazilian stands over two metres tall and made his Forest debut against Newcastle in the cup competition made for those who can’t get a sniff in Our League. He might get a chance after the international break after Sels pulled out of Belgium duty with an adductor injury. We should probably take that with a pinch of salt, though. He was never going to play for his country this month.
7) Lukasz Fabianski (West Ham)
Fabianski turns 40 in April and is still going for West Ham. Conceding five at Liverpool was disappointing 1) because he conceded five and 2) because he probably won’t play again until the FA Cup in January. Saying that, Alphonse Areola has his injury problems and Fabianski got the second half against Manchester City in August because of that.
6) Jason Steele (Brighton)
The very first time we did this feature, Steele was plopped into 18th place. Since then, he has replaced Robert Sanchez as Brighton No. 1 and shared the shirt with Bart Verbruggen in 2023/24. Turns out he is a pretty capable goalkeeper and handy with the ball at his feet. In the wise words of Andy Townsend: listen, fair play.
Fabian Hurzeler could turn to Steele soon unless Verbruggen stops assisting opposition attackers.
5) Jose Sa (Wolves)
From one of the worst starting goalkeepers in the Premier League to one of the best back-ups, Sa has been dropped for summer signing Sam Johnstone, whose start at Wolves has been pretty miserable.
Like with Steele and Miguel, it would not be too surprising to see Sa come back in after the international break.
4) Neto (Arsenal)
Signed despite being ineligible in the Carabao Cup having played for Bournemouth, the signing of Neto is a little odd in that respect but should David Raya get injured, Mikel Arteta has a handy contingency plan.
3) Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool)
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has got injured at the worst time with some hellish fixtures coming up for Arne Slot’s side. We are excited to see what they are made of in the testing period and it will be interesting to see how Kelleher – who has only lost once in 16 Premier League appearances – gets on.
Alisson is out until the November international break at the earliest, meaning the Irishman will play against Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton (twice), Aston Villa, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen. If he is still hurt, Liverpool’s first five games after the break are against Southampton (yay), Real Madrid, Manchester City, Newcastle and Everton. Eek.
Kelleher is a good player so Liverpool should be fine. And if they are not fine, it won’t be because Alisson is injured, but because they are not the mentality monsters we once knew.
2) Stefan Ortega (Manchester City)
City have a wonderful second-choice goalkeeper in Ortega, who seems absolutely fine with his role and is definitely trusted by Pep Guardiola.
1) Filip Jorgensen (Chelsea)
Robert Sanchez has made a few errors recently but made amends against Nottingham Forest with some big saves. Still, Jorgensen is a fantastic young goalkeeper and should be Enzo Maresca’s first-choice by the end of the season. Sanchez’s annual cull is inevitable.
