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A Surprise Premier League Keeper Has The Best Save Percentage In Europe

A Surprise Premier League Keeper Has The Best Save Percentage In Europe

Forget Ederson, David De Gea and Thibaut Courtois...

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar

Ederson? Nope. David de Gea? Think again.

A Premier League keeper who's not plying his trade for any of the 'big' clubs is statistically the best in Europe.

When you think of the best stoppers around Europe, the usual suspects come to mind. From Atletico Madrid's Jan Oblak to Barcelona's Marc-Andre ter Stegen, not to mention the finest between the sticks in the Premier League.

De Gea, Courtois to name but a few.

Though according to Opta, Burnley's Nick Pope has the best save percentage of any goalkeeper in Europe's top five leagues, this season.

Pope has burst onto the scene as he covers for the injured Tom Heaton. The 25-year-old made his league debut against Crystal Palace after coming off the bench.

He marked his bow by keeping a clean sheet, while making fine save after fine save.

And he's since only conceded the solitary goal in the league.

Pope pulls off a brilliant save against Liverpool. Image: PA

Here's the top ten keepers in Europe:

1. Nick Pope (Burnley) - 94.4%

2. Ciprian Tatarusanu (Nantes) - 91.3%

3. Roman Burki (Borussia Dortmund) - 90.0%

4. David de Gea (Manchester United) - 88.2%

5. Philipp Tschauner (Hannover 96) - 86.2%

6. Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona) - 85.7%

7. Alisson Becker (AS Roma) - 85.2%

8. Ederson (Manchester City) - 84.6%

9. Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid) - 83.3%

10. Samir Handanovic (Inter Milan) - 83.3%

Meanwhile, following the victory against Palace in September, Pope said it was a dream to finally ply his trade in England's top flight.

"When I came to Burnley I wanted to play games. That's what you dream about as a player - you don't dream of sitting on the bench," he said via The Daily Mail.

Pope all smiles after keeping a clean sheet on his league debut. Image: PA

"As a goalkeeper coming off the bench is one of the hardest things you can do so to come on and get the clean sheet and the win, we're over the moon.

Pope added: "All the back four worked really hard as a unit and made last-ditch tackles and blocks. They were awesome in front of me and you need that when you come under pressure against top teams."

The Clarets' regular No.1 is set for an extended spell on the sideline after suffering a dislocated shoulder, so get used to seeing Pope in goal.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: David De Gea, Ederson, Premier League

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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