Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea was named as the best player the Premier League had to offer last month.
While the award has predominantly been won by attacking players, there are a few goalkeepers who have won it before with the number being just nine. So apart from De Gea, which other goalkeepers have won the gong before?
The Arsenal shot-stopper became the first keeper to win the award in April 1995. In that month, he helped his side to three wins in a sequence of results that moved the club clear of relegation fears – just four years after their last title.
- Tim Flowers-1997 and 2000
Tim Flowers is the only goalkeeper to have won the Premier League player of the month on two occasions.
He was part of the Blackburn Rovers that were crowned as the league champions in the 1994/95 season. While they struggled with consistency in the subsequent season, he won his first award in January 1997 after helping his side to three consecutive clean sheets.
He was to earn the accolade in September 2000 while in the books of Leicester City. The Foxes had made a brilliant start to the 2000/01 campaign, sitting top of the Premier League after eight games.
The award came as a surprise since Manninger spent most of his time at Arsenal as a backup keeper during his five-season with the North London club.
He was to benefit from David Seaman’s absence in the 1997/98 season and impressed when he kept six successive clean sheets. Three of those came in March as Manninger was named as the Premier League’s Player of the Month.
Paul Robinson broke into the Leeds team during the 2000/01 season and was named as the Premier League’s Player of the Month in November. His club just kept one clean sheet in the month but the keeper’s performance is something that was admired that season where he made 24 appearances in all competitions during a season in which Leeds reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.
One of the Premier League’s best goalkeepers got his hand to the award in 2007 while in the books of Chelsea FC Cech after keeping four consecutive clean sheets as Chelsea secured wins over Portsmouth, Manchester City, Sheffield United, and Watford.
He holds a number of Premier League records, including the cleanest sheets ever recorded (202) and the most managed in a single season (24).
Schwarzer arrived at Fulham from Middlesbrough on a free transfer in 2008 and spent five seasons at Craven Cottage.
He made 218 appearances in all competitions and was named as the Premier League’s Player of the Month in February 2010 after keeping four clean sheets in just five fixtures, conceding only one goal during an unbeaten run that moved the club into the Premier League’s top half.
The team reached the Europa League later that season, upsetting the likes of Juventus and Wolfsburg before an extra-time defeat to Atletico Madrid in the final.
Currently, with Norwich City, Tim Krul is a household name at Newcastle United and was an important figure under Allan Pardew. The Magpies were unbeaten in November 2013 when the keeper picked the gong.
In that month, Pardew’s side secured four consecutive wins, a run of results that included clean sheets in wins over Chelsea and Tottenham. He made 14 saves in total against Spurs, setting a new Premier League record in the process.
Fraser Forster set a new club record after going 708 minutes without conceding a goal for Southampton during the 2015/16 season.
The English keeper kept three consecutive clean sheets in February 2016, helping the Saints secure positive results against Arsenal, West Ham, and Swansea. The club was to finish sixth that season; their highest position and points total (63) of the Premier League era.
David de Gea has added his name to the list of goalkeepers to have claimed Player of the Month awards, following his performances in January 2022.
The Spaniard made 22 saves during the month, helping his side to back-to-back wins over Brentford and West Ham before the international break.
