David Raya: Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham target in focus
Each day we pick out a player and cut through the noise to give analytical, objective insight. Thursday's focus is on Brentford goalkeeper David Raya.
- Age: 27
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Club: Brentford
- Country: Spain
An ever-present in Thomas Frank's side as Brentford mount a challenge for their first-ever European qualification, David Raya has played a major part in the Bees' drive up the table.
He's kept eight clean sheets since the start of term as his team avoided defeat all but four times - only Arsenal and Newcastle have lost fewer matches.
The Spaniard has been kept busy, too. In the firing line with 134 shots on goal against him, there has been nowhere for Raya to hide.
But the 27-year-old has stood up to the task and pulled off 4.35 saves per game, or more than any other Premier League goalkeeper - excluding those with fewer than five appearances.
Not only has Raya proved trustworthy between the posts in terms of the sheer number of chances dealt with, but also through consistent growth.
As Brentford have transformed themselves from a Sky Bet Championship side to a top-half Premier League outfit, Raya's game has had to develop in order for him to hold on to the starting goalkeeper's spot.
Over the past four seasons, the now two-time Spain international's improvement can be mapped in terms of psxG +/- (post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed).
This metric balances the combined likelihood of each shot faced by a goalkeeper finding the net with the actual number of goals they concede, meaning that a positive return suggests a shot-stopper is performing better than expected.
Through the Bees' promotion from the second tier and into their first season in the Premier League, Raya's figures were slightly below bar, though showing a gradual improvement.
Fast-forward to this season and there is a marked difference; the Brentford man would have been expected to let in 30.5 goals over the 23 matches he has played, but has in reality conceded just 28 - plus two one goals - leaving him in credit by 2.5 psxG.
It is always difficult to say how a goalkeeper at a lower-ranked team will fare if thrust into a side challenging for titles, but one thing can be said with certainty: David Raya's performances stand him out from his Premier League peers.