7 Goalkeepers I Would NOT Buy Right Now
Just like last year, I will give a list of players which I would not buy at the moment for several reasons, but as always every card can be interesting for the right price.
1). Steve Mandanda (The last 3 rare sales were around 0.13 eth)
A known name amongst us football fans. The current number 1 from Rennes is playing a very solid season at the age of 38. Losing his starting spot in Marseille last season, he got a chance to join Rennes where he ended up being the starter for the French team, which is fighting for European classification almost every year. That he would become the starter was not completely sure at the start, in Rennes you have great Turkish talent Alemdar (more info on him in our previous article) and Gomis as well, who joined Rennes 3 years ago from Dijon for a lot of money (currently on loan to Serie B club Como).
Being the undisputed number 1 this season doesn't mean it will be the same next season as well. Alemdar is a great talent and the question is what Rennes wants to do with him. If he will not be their number 1 next season, they have to send him on loan somewhere to win game time. When Mandanda joined, it was said he would be a great guide for Alemdar and make him ready to become the number 1 in Rennes for years to come, with Mandanda having a contract till 2024. Is it possible Mandanda will be number 1 next season? Yes, it is possible and will depend on how the manager thinks, and how much the club really believes in Alemdar. But I would think very well before you buy Mandanda nowadays. He is 38 years and if ends up being benched this really could be the end of his career.
2). Lennart Moser (The last 3 rare sales were around 0.096 eth)
Everybody is often looking for an under-23 goalkeeper and Moser his name comes around very often, as he still is under 23 for another season to come. That can sound interesting for the price that he is, but I would strongly advise digging a bit deeper. Is Moser that bad goalkeeper then? No, he is not, he is an ok keeper for the Belgian division, although I would not expect him to be the starting keeper from teams higher in the classification. And that's what is very important in his case. Eupen is a team fighting against relegation every season, for one reason or another, they always stay in the league, even this year when 3 teams were relegated from the Belgian first division. But once they have to go down and they are the number 1 candidate for the season to come, where 2 teams relegate + 1 other team is in relegation playoffs in a league that will be reduced from 18 to 16 teams next season. Eupen is owned by Aspire from Qatar and they always kept the club financially healthy for a decade, but that seems to have an end. It was communicated the budget would be less than this year. A lot of contracts were not renewed, including their best players Peeters and Prevljak. So no money and not a lot of players, so their team will be loanees and free players. They can be lucky of course you never know, but I would be surprised. A new manager will arrive, but no names rumored yet, so a lot of uncertainties in Eupen. That does mean you have to pay attention to Moser who has a contract till 2025. He can stay number 1, although you don't know that for sure, the main problem is the team Eupen, don't expect him to have a lot of clean sheets next season.
3). Josep Martinez (The last 2 rare sales were around 0.20 eth)
Once a very big goalkeeper talent, playing matches in La Liga at the age of 20. He had to opportunity to show it during a full season playing for Italian side Genoa, with whom he recently won promotion to Serie A. Officially still on loan from Red Bull Leipzig, he automatically became contracted by Genoa in case they won promotion. He had a great season with Genoa, playing most of the matches under 2 different managers, with Semper as his competitor. Semper, the Croatian goal-stopper, was his backup for most of the season, playing only 8 matches.
Not sure he will remain their starting goalkeeper + Genoa will not have as great scores as the current season, where they had a big amount of clean sheets. Off course they can surprise but a midtable classification would be a success for the club. And Martinez his scores wouldn't be that great anymore.
4). Cristian Alvarez (The last 3 rare sales were around 0.10 eth)
Ok, age is not everything, but let's be honest, quite important for every Sorare card you own and especially a goalkeeper. Who didn't buy a 30+ goalkeeper once as a starter, and see his value drop dramatically when he ends up being benched (besides the normal, also dramatic, price drops over the last months for every Sorare card)? He's a very experienced goalkeeper, although he only is a fixed starter in his career since he joined Zaragoza in 2017 (including being without a club for more than 1 year). Being a starter for more than 6 seasons in a row, there are not that many keepers who can say that in the Spanish 2nd division. But that has to end once. Does that mean he will be dropped automatically next season, of course not, but there are some things to bear in mind. His competitor Raton will not stay at the club, and Zaragoza is searching for an extra goalkeeper. Some names already came around, where Yanez from Malaga was the main name to join the club. Yanez played a big part of the season for Malaga after winning the battle for starting keeper against Manolo Reina (another example of a keeper you could have bought once quite expensive, check his price right now). Malaga does look like they will relegate and Zaragoza is genuinely interested in Yanez if that would happen. As always that doesn't mean Yanez would become number 1 in Zaragoza but that's a very decent competition for Alvarez. In case it would not be Yanez, someone else will be signed and then the battle can start. It's perfectly possible Alvarez is their number 1 next year, but with his contract until 2024 and being 37 years of age, his career might be over soon.
5). Yann Sommer (The last 3 rare sales were around 0.20 eth)
A lot of people would disagree I assume, but hear me out. I don't think Sommer needs a lot of introduction and you must have followed the Neuer story this winter. The German number 1 from Bayern broke his leg during a ski accident and the German giants had to sign someone new as they didn't want to put their trust in Ulreich, and Nübel didn't want to come back from his loan spell in Monaco. In the end, it was Sommer who joined Bayern as their new number for the rest of the season, he transferred from Mönchengladbach. Now Neuer will come back from injury next season and it does make sense he will regain his number 1 spot, not completely sure of course, but I would be surprised if not. Apparently, Sommer has a kind of agreement he can move this summer to another club in case Neuer will be number 1 again. So what are the risks? Sommer starts the season but loses his spot after some matches to Neuer or Neuer immediately is the starting gk and Sommer wants to leave. He just has to make sure he can leave and hope some teams still want to pay a fee for a 34-year-old keeper. There will be teams interested I assume, and then you easily end up in the premier league where there is money to pay for a 34-year-old gk. Man Utd was already rumored to be interested in case De Gea leaves, but there are already more than 10 goalkeepers linked to Man Utd over the last couple of weeks. And what if he ends up in the premier league but to a midtable team, check the Sorare scores of those goalkeepers, that's not that great with the small number of clean sheets you might end up with.
6). Vasilios Barkas (The last 3 rare sales were around 0.10 eth (Bellona not included))
Barkas is the Greek goalkeeper from the Dutch side Utrecht. Our Scottish readers will know him very well, as he is on loan from Celtic, who once paid a very decent amount of money to sign him as their new number 1, which didn't really work out very well in Scotland for Barkas. This season Utrecht signed him in the summer on loan, as their young number 1 De Keijzer was seriously injured, and wouldn't make it to the start of the season. Barkas performed well and when De Keijzer came back from injury, Barkas kept his spot. Even under 2 different managers he performed well and showed why Celtic once signed him. It doesn't mean Celtic wants him back, they just want to get rid of him with a contract until 2024. With Barkas playing well, it must mean they'll be able to actually sell him to another club, but the big amount they paid for him will not be recovered. Utrecht does want to keep him, but they don't have a lot of money, so that looks difficult, nevertheless, another Greek player could help him out maybe. Celtic is interested in Douvikas, the current top scorer from the Dutch Eredivisie, playing for Utrecht, so maybe there might be a deal including both. On the other hand, if that deal would not happen, where he will end up? And do teams with limited budgets want to pay money for Barkas? Who failed in Celtic? Let's say he ends up signing for Utrecht, it does look like he would remain the number 1, but with great talent like De Keijzer around, he must keep performing. What's another risk with Barkas? Well, he is Greek, Greek players tend to go back to Greece, and that league is not covered by Sorare.
7). Ethan Horvath (The last 3 rare sales were around 0.24 eth)
As a proud owner of a rare Horvath card, I am feeling bad about including him over here, but I think he fits my criteria this time. American goalie Horvath plays for Championship team Luton, a team fighting from promotion in the playoffs this season and 3 matches away from a possible move to the Premier League. Horvath is on loan from Nottingham Forest, who won promotion last season. When they were still in the Championship last season, Horvath didn't play a lot of matches, cause Brice Samba performed very well, which he confirms this season as the number 1 for Lens, the big surprise in the Ligue 1. This season he really shows why Club Brugge once paid money for him, signing him from Molde. The big question is what will happen next season. There is no option to buy and it might depend as well on what will happen with Luton. If they win the promotion I would not expect that Luton sees him as number 1 in the premier league. If Nottingham Forest avoids relegation, same story, but if they do relegate maybe he is their option as the number 1. With a contract till 2024 Nottingham also has to think very well about what they exactly want to do with him. Is a Horvath a good option long-term, hell yes, but i wouldn't buy him right now.