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Burnley goalkeeper, Tom Heaton, wins Premier League 'Super Saver' award

Press release 30th July 2015

  • Heaton proved to be 93 per cent more cost-effective than the average Premier League goalkeeper
  • Premier League keepers made a save, on average, once every 32 minutes at a cost of £87,407 per save and were among least value for money in the Champions League
  • Chelsea may have been right to sell Petr Cech to Chelsea – he cost the club £325,000 per save last season

Tom Heaton, the Burnley goalkeeper who played a crucial role in the club’s promotion to the Premier League and subsequent struggle to stay in the top flight, has scooped the ‘Scottish Friendly Super Saver Award’, for being the goalkeeper who offered the best financial value for his club in the 2014/15 Premier League season.

With the new Premier League season almost upon us and last minute transfer deals being negotiated, the award celebrates the skill and cost effectiveness offered by goalkeepers in the last Barclays Premier League season.

Heaton came top of the charts having made a save for Burnley on average every 26 minutes of game time this season and costing his club just £6,000 per save – 93 per cent cheaper than the going rate for a Premier League goalkeeper.

By contrast, Premier League goalkeepers made a save once every 32 minutes, at an average cost of £87,407 a save to their clubs.

Running a close second and third for the award were West Ham’s Adrián and Sunderland’s Costel Pantilimon, who cost their clubs £8,000 and £10,446 per save respectively. The full rundown of all Premier League goalkeepers can be found here: www.scottishfriendly.co.uk/community/super-saver-cup-with-bob-friendly

 

Calum Bennie, investment expert at Scottish Friendly said:

Signing Heaton two years ago was a canny move by Burnley, both financially and as a way of boosting the club’s overall performance. Equally, despite Burnley being relegated, it’s not surprising that Roy Hodgson was keen on making him part of the England squad, as he walked away with ten clean sheets this season.

It’s interesting to see that the most valued players are not necessarily providing the best value for money for their clubs. Heaton’s performance is a win-win situation not only for the fans who got to watch some fantastic performances, but for the club, where Heaton has vindicated its selection and transfer policies.

While Crystal Palace’s Julián Speroni showed his consistency by being the only keeper to stay in the top five two seasons in a row, last year’s award winner Vito Mannone of Sunderland dropped to 17th place, putting him in mid-table obscurity in this year’s ranking.

Best value goalkeepers in the 2014/15 Premier League season:
Name Club Weekly salary Mins played Mins per save Cost per save
Heaton, T Burnley £15,000 3,420 26.31 £6,000
Adrián West Ham United £20,000 3,420 26.31 £8,000
Pantilimon, C Sunderland £22,500 2,520 22.50 £10,466
Speroni, J Crystal Palace £20,000 3,240 35.60 £11,429
Fabianski, L Swansea £40,000 3,308 23.63 £14,857

 

In comparison, the goalkeeper who cost his club the most last season was Willy Caballero of Manchester City, who offered a return on investment of a whopping £390,000 per save. Caballero was closely followed by Liverpool’s Brad Jones and Petr Cech of Chelsea, who both cost their clubs £325,000 per save. With Cech’s long-awaited transfer to rivals Arsenal completed, Chelsea may have made a savvy business move in letting the Czech Republic star leave the club.

Worst value goalkeepers in the 2014/15 Premier League season:
Name Club Weekly salary Mins played Mins per save Cost per save
Caballero, W Manchester City £45,000 180 30.00 £390,000
Jones, B Liverpool £25,000 196 49.00 £325,000
Cech, P Chelsea £100,000 606 37.88 £325,000
Given, S Aston Villa £52,000 270 30.00 £300,444
Hennessy, W Crystal Palace £20,000 215 53.75 £260,000

 

How they performed in Europe?

Scottish Friendly’s research also showed that the Premier League’s top goalkeepers were among the least value for money of those who played in the 2014/15 Champions League.

Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois and Petr Cech, and Wojciech Szczesny of Arsenal were the standout culprits to make the list of worst value goalkeepers in the 2014/15 Champions League. Chelsea’s duo cost the club a whopping £837,778 per save combined, while Szczesny cost the Gunners £242,667 per save.

Despite their mediocre performances in 2014/15, Liverpool’s Simon Mignolet was the best placed Premier League shot stopper on the list of best value goalkeepers in the Champions League, coming in at 24th place and costing £97,500 per save.

Worst value goalkeepers in the 2014/15 Champions League season*:
Name Club Weekly salary Mins played Mins per save Cost per save
Cech, P Chelsea £100,000 270 30.00 £577,778
Neuer, M Bayern Munich £140,000 1,080 43.20 £291,200
Casillas, I Real Madrid £175,000 900 28.13 £284,375
Courtois, T Chelsea £100,000 480 24.00 £260,000
Szczesny, W Arsenal £70,000 330 22.00 £242,667
*Players that have played over 250 minutes of Champions League football in the 2014/15 season

 

The best value goalkeeper in the European competition this season was Jasmin Handanovi? of Maribor, who made an amazing 37 saves in six games in the tournament, with a save on average every 15 minutes of game time and costing his club just £703 per save – 99 per cent cheaper than the going-rate for a Champions League goalkeeper this season.

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