20 Best Goalkeepers in the Premier League Right Now (2026)

The Premier League has always been notorious for great men between the sticks. The likes of Peter Schmeichel, Petr Cech, Edwin van der Sar, David Seaman and Jens Lehmann all come to mind when thinking of the all-time greats.

However, in 2025/26, fans are truly blessed with some of the finest array of shot-stopping talent the league has ever seen. We’ve seen the position evolve so much – from standard saves on the goal line to ‘keepers now commanding their area with expertise and even starting attacks with exquisite passing.

Many of the number ones at different Premier League clubs are looking to avoid the dreaded ‘second season syndrome’ this term, while the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma and Martin Dubravka have to settle into life at their new teams. With so much talent to pick from in the ever-changing landscape that is the goalkeeper decision, the top 20 Premier League shot-stoppers currently playing today have been ranked.

Ranking factors

The factors taken into consideration are as follows:

• Clean sheets – how many clean sheets they’ve earned at the club is a strong indicator of their quality. But it’s important to remember some teams have stronger defences than others.
• Importance to their club – if they are consistently making world-class saves and helping their team every minute, they will be ranked highly, even if they’re not at the best clubs.
• Distribution – as part of modern-day football, goalkeepers must be capable of starting attacks with precision passing into the danger zones.
• Shot-stopping – as the bread and butter of being a goalkeeper, they must be capable of making world-class saves on a regular basis, especially in the hardest league in the world.

20

Martin Dubravka

Burnley

After a couple of seasons as a perennial backup at Newcastle, Martin Dubravka made the decision to leave St James’ Park at the end of 2024/25. He signed for Burnley on a one-year deal, but the 37-year-old has proven to be a shrewd acquisition for the newly promoted side.

The Clarets needed to replace the outgoing James Trafford, and while results haven’t gone their way, Dubravka has provided poise and decent leadership to a team that will be embroiled in a relegation battle for much of this term. Longevity isn’t on his side, but he’s still a reliable option even in the twilight of his career.

19

James Trafford

Manchester City

Following a standout 2024-25 season in the Championship with Burnley, James Trafford earned a return to his boyhood club Manchester City. However, he has not featured as regularly as perhaps initially expected under Pep Guardiola this term, with his appearances largely limited to cup competitions.

Gianluigi Donnarumma’s arrival has seen Trafford play second fiddle to the Italian for much of the campaign, and as a result, the 23-year-old could be on the move again. Trafford claimed the Championship Golden Glove last season after keeping 29 clean sheets and conceding just 16 goals in 45 appearances.

18

Djordje Petrovic

Bournemouth

Following an excellent loan spell at Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, Djordje Petrovic decided not to push for the starting goalkeeper spot at Chelsea and explored potential transfer options. Settling on Bournemouth, the Serbian moved to the Cherries for £25m, hoping to kickstart a Premier League career that didn’t have a future at Stamford Bridge.

And so far, so good for the 26-year-old. Andoni Iraola’s side have been impressive and Petrovic has been reliable when called upon, having kept four clean sheets in his first nine matches before the Cherries then went through a mid-season rough patch.

17

Robert Sanchez

Chelsea

You can never really tell what Robert Sanchez is going to turn up for Chelsea. On his worst days, the Spaniard is guilty of making baffling decisions, as he did against Manchester United where he was needlessly sent off for rushing out and taking down Bryan Mbeumo. But on his best days, he’s a fantastic shot-stopper, an authoritative cross claimer, and a superb passer who can spring counter-attacks.

Supporters saw him put in a number of decent displays at the Club World Cup, and he’s had flashes of brilliance to start the new term, along with a few shaky moments. The key for him now is to find consistency, which he is still struggling with.

16

Guglielmo Vicario

Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur replaced long-term servant Hugo Lloris in the summer of 2023 after the Frenchman repeatedly made mistakes in the prior campaign. He eventually joined LAFC in America after being replaced by Guglielmo Vicario. Signed from Empoli, very few fans had heard of him, and – ever since his debut away to Brentford in August 2024 – he has ebbed and flowed like the aformentioned Sanchez.

During his strong start to life in the Premier League, he has shown a combination of solid shot-stopping abilities, as well as being adept at playing the role of sweeper-keeper. Off the back of seven clean sheets in his first season in north London, the Italian dropped to four the following season as Ange Postecoglou’s system was torn apart. Under Thomas Frank, he’s already matched his previous campaign’s total, but he’s still far too prone to a mistake to climb any higher on this list.

15

Jose Sa

Wolverhampton Wanderers

It’s been a tumultuous start to the 2025/26 season for Wolverhampton Wanderers. Rock bottom of the Premier League table, the entire team has struggled against every team they’ve faced so far this term.

Jose Sa has been recently reinstated as the first-choice goalkeeper under new manager Rob Edwards, and performances have no doubt improved. But with him being perhaps the only saving grace in the Old Gold’s backline, he’s up against it in any attempt to be considered among the very best on this list.

14

Giorgi Mamardashvili

Liverpool

Liverpool have been blessed in recent years to have Alisson in goal (more on him later), but the Brazilian isn’t getting any younger. Time is catching up with him, as evidenced by the injury issues he’s had in recent years, so a succession plan was always going to be needed at Anfield.

The club hierarchy decided to sign Giorigi Mamardashvili from Valencia in 2024, loaning him back to the Spanish side for the season where he kept eight clean sheets in 34 games. An injury to the club’s number one has allowed the Georgian to feature regularly at the start of this term. While the Reds have struggled as a unit, Mamardashvili had impressed, giving cause to think that he could excel when he becomes the undisputed first choice in the future.

13

Bart Verbruggen

Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton, despite losing multiple key players every transfer window, seem to have a knack of finding talent from around the world that can take them up a level. And while Bart Verburggen hasn’t exactly been a revelation in goal for the Seagulls, he has been consistent enough to keep them ticking over.

The Dutchman, who is also first-choice for his national side, has everything you want for a modern-day goalkeeper. There is certainly room for improvement, considering that he’s kept just 21 clean sheets over the course of 90 games for the club, but at 23-years-old, you’d back him to get better as he becomes more experienced.

12

Nick Pope

Newcastle United

Nick Pope may be the best pure shot-stopper England has to offer, but that isn’t the side of his game that is ever questioned. Newcastle United opted to buy the former Burnley man in the 2022 summer transfer window, with the English giant filling the void superbly in his debut campaign.

Since then, though, the 33-year-old hasn’t always been reliable between the posts. During the Magpies’ match against West Ham, Pope arguably could have done better for Lucas Paqueta’s strike, highlighting his questionable moments under Eddie Howe. With Aaron Ramsdale in the lurch, he could well lose his spot if issues around his eccentricity persist.

11

Matz Sels

Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest blew everyone away last season in terms of exceeding their expectations. After a couple of campaigns narrowly avoiding relegation, they turned their aspirations on their head and, with the help of Crystal Palace’s ban, earned their way into the Europa League this term.

At the heart of this was a great defensive record, and that was guided by Matz Sels, who was a revelation following his move to the Midlands. His stock has risen massively over the last 18 months as he walked away with the joint-highest number of clean sheets on 13, but he needs to recover after the Tricky Trees’ difficult start to 2025/26, which he has shown signs of doing after clean sheets against both Liverpool and Arsenal.