MOST Dream Team managers resent having to use a transfer on their goalkeeper.
Once the season is underway, there are usually more pressing matters to attend to and so a reliable, set-and-forget figure between the sticks offers peace of mind.
So who fits the bill ahead of the 2024/25 campaign?
According to Dream Team bosses, Emi Martinez (£3.5m) is the leading candidate as he currently features in 18.8% of teams in the build-up to Gameweek 1.
Aston Villa’s No1 is hardly the first person one thinks of in regards to stress-free assets – no player in his position picked up more yellow cards last season.
While the 31-year-old is fond of antics, he has made many terrific saves in recent years, as Argentina supporters will gladly confirm.
One of the reasons Martinez is the most-popular keeper in Dream Team is the fact the Villains will have Champions League fixtures to bolster their schedule this season.
Clean sheets don’t come easy in Europe’s premier competition but the revised format ensures at least eight outings for Unai Emery’s men.
Martinez is comfortably the cheapest first-choice keeper among those who finished in the top four of the Premier League last time out and so his popularity comes as no surprise.
Ederson (£4.5m), Alisson (£4.5m) and David Raya (£4.5m) are the premium options who come at a significant cost.
The latter is seemingly the most appealing of the three having kept 20 clean sheets last season – none of his rivals registered more than 14.
It remains to be seen whether Arsenal can replicate the airtight nature of their defence but there’s no reason to expect a dip at this stage.
Gaffers would do well to remember that Andre Onana (£4m) was the only keeper to achieve 200+ points in 2023/24.
The Cameroon international was guilty of several glaring errors during his first few weeks at Old Trafford but he gradually improved and ended up limiting the damage Manchester United incurred.
Erik ten Hag struggled to construct a resilient defence and Onana was forced to make a whopping 193 saves in all competitions – Jose Sa (£2.5m) was the only other keeper to notch over 150.
It may feel counterproductive to select a keeper who is protected by a vulnerable defence but Onana proved last season that save points add up fast – he also kept 13 clean sheets.
Elsewhere, Jordan Pickford (£3.5m) is a solid pick in the mid-range.
Everton may have lacked firepower last term but their defence held relatively firm.
As a result, the Toffees’ custodian finished the season with more clean sheets than the likes of Ederson, Alisson and Martinez.
Gaffers keen on a value-for-money option between the sticks should consider Dean Henderson (£2.5m).
The England one-cap wonder was one of many Crystal Palace players who looked excellent at the back end of last season as Oliver Glasner’s side ended with six wins from their last seven games.
That being said, Henderson faces stiff competition from Sam Johnstone (£2.5m), who was the Eagles’ first-choice keeper before he got injured.
It might pay to wait for a clearer indication of the pecking order before commiting to a Palace keeper but at £2.5m Henderson may be worth a punt from the get-go.
In the bargain aisle, Carlos Miguel (£2m) is an intriguing alternative.
Nottingham Forest’s newly-acquired keeper is 6ft 8in tall and has a relatively favourable set of fixtures to ease him into Premier League life in the form of Bournemouth, Southampton and Wolves before the end of August.
That’s if he gets the nod of course, Matz Sels (£2m) and Matt Turner (£2m) will also be hopeful of minutes.
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