QPR Recruitment Focus: Goalkeepers
It’s no secret that Asmir Begovic’s campaign for QPR has been an absolute rollercoaster, with a mixture of outstanding saves and commanding goalkeeping coupled with weak shotstopping and individual errors. With the former Premier League winner out of contract at the end of the month, alongside no. 2 Jordan Archer, I’ve taken a look at 5 possible options that would make sense for QPR to pursue in this summer’s transfer window & how they’ve performed this season.
Before we begin, it’s important to highlight that I’ve selected goalkeepers that are of a particular age profile (24–28 years old) who already have first team experience but can still improve as they enter their prime years. Clearly the introduction of Christian Nourry as CEO will increase the emphasis on data-driven recruitment, so I’ve attempted to make this as realistic as possible, including a statistical comparison at the end of the article — make sure you have a look as there’s some interesting takeaways in there. Enjoy!
Lukas Jensen — Lincoln City
Jensen is an incredible shot stopper, which is really emphasised in 1v1 situtations where his situational intelligence shines — picking his moments to close the angle and rush the forward extremely well. With good height, he also claims crosses and set-pieces well and is a leader at the back for Lincoln. Jensen also possesses good distribution skills which is something that Martí will see as a key attribute for any QPR goalkeeper.
Currently has the joint most clean sheets in League One this season with 18, Jensen will have the attention of most Championship clubs. His numbers are great, conceding just 34 goals in 41 League One appearances with a 44% clean sheet rate and a save percentage of 77.5% — he’s the real deal and the clear no.1 in this division. A new stat that makes it easier to compare goalkeepers is ‘goals prevented’ — of which Jensen scores +5.06 (meaning he’s prevented at least 5 goals that should have gone in statistically), and Begovic currently scores -7.46. You get the picture.
His current contract at Lincoln expires in the summer of 2025, so he would likely be open to a move up to the Championship should Lincoln fail to be promoted. However, Lincoln know he’s been immense and would likely demand a sizeable fee for the 25 year-old goalkeeper, who will have a queue of suitors after such a successful campaign. Feels almost a given that someone of his age and recent success would want to test themselves at a higher level if offered a chance to, and I feel that Jensen is more than capable of stepping in at Championship level and not looking out of place.
Pelle Boevink — SC Paderborn
Boevink is a goalkeeper who looks very comfortable in possession; stepping out of his box with the ball and using his strong passing ability to distribute to all areas of the field. He enjoys coming off his line and closing attackers down, as well as using his feet to save well in 1v1 scenarios, and when saving from tight angles too. A real sweeper-keeper, Boevink looks comfortable being the instigator of build-up play for Paderborn. After watching a lot of Boevink, he is pretty consistent at using his powerful frame to save the ball up and away from the middle of the goal, leaving very few rebound opportunities — a really underrated trait for a goalkeeper.
His stats aren’t quite as impressive as the game footage in a high-scoring 2. Bundesliga. With a clean sheet % of 28.5% and goals prevented score of -3.08, there are elements of his game that could do with refining, particularly his use of his feet and reflexes when making saves. However, I think the stats look harsh on the Paderborn shot-stopper who play with a back-3 which often gets exposed.
The 26 year old goalkeeper has a contract that expires in the summer of 2025 at SC Paderborn, which means he may be open to seeking a move to secure his future. Paderborn are unlikely to want to sell their newly found no. 1 goalkeeper so a fee is likely to be involved, but with the wages of Begovic and/or Archer likely to be off the books, this could be an astute move to get a solid keeper who still has room to improve and grow within a team that emphasises good passing & building out from the back.
Marek Rodak — Fulham
Rodak is a quality shot-stopper who positions himself extremely well to make saves and tighten angles for attackers. His constant scanning of his posts makes this possible and allows him to cover his front post comfortably. The Slovakian has impressive athleticism and great diving, often getting a strong hand on shots to palm away from danger. Rodak has played under a plethora of managers who have made him a promiment starter in their teams due to their desire to play possession-based football and his skillset remains strong in this area because he looks comfortable on the ball and often plays short passes to defenders to build an attack.
Rodak’s previous seasons as a starter in the Championship for Fulham came in the 2021/22 where he kept 14 clean sheets and only conceded 26 goals in 33 matches, as well as the 2019/2020 season where he played 33 games and conceded 33 goals. In both of those seasons he had a clean sheet percentage of over 39% and was a mainstay in those 2 promotion seasons for Fulham. With a save percentage of over 75% in both campaigns — it’s clear to see Rodak is a top-end goalkeeper at Championship level and has significant experience at this level at just 27.
Rodak has been resided to the Fulham bench for over 12 months, except for a few cup appearances, but with his contract expiring this summer — he could be worth pursuing if he isn’t re-signed by our West London counterparts. Wage demands may be relatively high but if we can afford to pay Begovic a rumoured £32,500 per week (capology.com) then Rodak would likely be in this range, if not cheaper. Rodak could come in and be our no. 1 and play consistently which could make us an attractive option, as well as there being no requirement for him to change his living situation due to our location.
Daniel Grimshaw — Blackpool
Grimshaw has been excellent for a couple of seasons for a competitive Blackpool side in League One, cementing himself as one of the better keepers in the division. Grimshaw has good positional awareness and uses his feet well to adjust himself as the threat moves centrally or wider — covering his posts well. When tasked with close encounters with attackers, he often makes saves by being brave, making himself big and putting his body on the line superbly. A good goalkeeper, who perhaps needs some more confidence to come off his line and command his box a bit more, in my opinion.
His statistics are pretty impressive for the 23/24 campaign, with the 2nd most clean sheets in League One (17), a clean sheet percentage of 40.4%. He has conceded exactly 1 goal a game (at time of writing), with a save percentage of 71.4% and goals prevented statistic of +3.57 — it’s clear to see why he’s so highly regarded. He doesn’t stand out statistically when it comes to sweeping and ball-playing, which may be a reason that he isn’t shortlisted by QPR as a Begovic replacement, but I think he’s a viable option still.
With Blackpool still hunting a play-off spot, his future remains uncertain for now. If there’s Championship interest in him then I’m sure he’d be intrigued by the opportunity to test himself at a higher level should Blackpool remain in League One. Being the no.1 at Blackpool makes it unlikely they’ll be willing to let him go on the cheap, but with his contract expiring in June 2025 (with a club option for an extra year), there’s certainly wiggle room to negotiate for a more reasonable fee if we were to target him.
Ron Thorben-Hoffmann — Eintracht Braunschweig
Hoffmann has been a shining light in an otherwise poor season for Eintracht Braunschweig in 2. Bundesliga, providing a high volume of saves and some incredible highlight reel moments from the German goalkeeper. He uses his long frame to make excellent diving saves and is one of the better keepers I’ve scouted at saving up-high. Hoffmann possesses a big kick on him too, which can be a useful tool when pressured heavily. He also manages to use his feet and body well to save shots from close-range, although sometimes lacks the strength to push shots away from danger.
Hoffmann had a loan spell at Sunderland in 2021/2022, where he played 23 games in League One, conceding 31 goals and keeping 8 clean sheets (34.8% CS percentage). According to FotMob’s ranking system, he is an above average sweeper keeper — in the top 35% of players from similar leagues to 2. Bundesliga in this area. His save percentage is pretty good at 67.7%, which is similar to Begovic’s 68% for this season, although I hope to see some improvement & toughening up as the season reaches a conclusion and hsi team battle relegation. He currently has a goals prevented statistic of +2.47 in a poor Eintracht Braunschweig side that find themselves 3rd bottom of the league. However, their attack has significantly let them down, having scored the 3rd fewest goals in the league.
Hoffmann’s contract is expiring at the end of June, so we could potentially negotiate directly with him and his agent to offer him a deal. His performances may have convinced Eintracht Braunschweig to extend his contract — but with the potential threat of relegation or a 3rd place play-off, he may be allowed to walk. I suggest that if he were to be signed it would be to offer direct competition to Archer/Walsh for the no.1 spot and he wouldn’t be a guaranteed no.1 upon signing. Regardless of whether QPR sign him or not, he’s a lot of fun to watch and I’ll certainly be monitoring his progress in the future.
Statistical Comparisons
*Before breaking down the statistics, there are a few caveats to highlight; mainly that Rodak’s statistics are taken from his previous season in the Championship where he had 33 appearances, due to the lack of game time he’s had in the past 2 seasons. Furthermore, Boevink has only recently become the no.1 at Parderborn so his statistics are based off his 14 appearances this season in the 2. Bundesliga.
As you can see from the above visualisation, Begovic’s ‘Goals Prevented’ statistic (calculated as: expected Goals on Target conceded from shots on target faced, minus goals conceded) is horrific at -7.46. This means he’s conceded 8 goals more than he should have, with the latest costing us 2 points at Plymouth last night. Boevink also has a minus statistic in this category which suggests his shot-stopping needs to improve. Meanwhile, the rest of the GKs are all in the positive for this statistic with Jensen’s 5.06 out in front — although consideration of the difficulty of the leagues that each GK plays in is required. Grimshaw, Rodak and Jensen are all more impressive than Begovic’s current season statistically when looking at Save% and Clean Sheet%. While Hoffmann has a poor Save% and Clean Sheet% relative to the others, he has a relatively high Goals Prevented statistic — highlighting the positive impact that his incredible diving saves has on the scoreline.
Another important skill for a QPR GK under Cifuentes’ is to be comfortable and competent with the ball at your feet. In the above visualisation, there’s a comparison of the passing statistics of all the goalkeeping options I’ve mentioned — with Boevink’s statistics looking particularly impressive. Begovic’s long ball accuracy is worse than 4 of the 5 goalkeepers I’ve highlighted and his passing accuracy is also bettered by 3 of the 5 goalkeepers too. Rodak & Begovic playing fewer long balls, albeit they’re quite accurate, provides insight that they’re tasked with playing shorter passes as the team builds out from the back. Jensen’s poor passing accuracy may limit him if he were to be part of the Cifuentes’ revolution at Loftus Road and Boevnik’s long-ball tendencies may also be irrelevant or just underutilised if he was to be signed.
From this data, we can see that Jensen’s shot stopping ability and excellent goalkeeping attributes are a trade-off for worse distribution and passing. Inversely, Boevink’s goalkeeping statistics are worse than the others but his distribution and passing ability is superior to the rest.
In summary, Jensen & Grimshaw look the most well-rounded and provide a more certain statistical upgrade on Begovic — although they do play in League One and it’s still a gamble that they can be solid at this level. Rodak has been excellent in previous years but his current level remains a bit of a mystery due to a lack of playing time; although I’m convinced he’s a top 10 Championship GK if he did move this summer. Boevink is an excellent distributor and appears calm on the ball & is confident using his range of passing but he lacks in the shot stopping and game intelligence department at times. Finally, Hoffmann is a combination of solid goalkeeping and decent distribution but would still be a risk if being signed to be QPR’s no. 1 due to his lack of experience at a level equivalent to the Championship.
Here are a few honourable mentions of players that I scouted but ultimately decided against including in the list:
- Oliver Dovin — Hammarby
- Alex Paulsen — Wellington Phoenix
- Nicolas Kristof — Elversberg
- Zach Hemming — St Mirren (on loan from Middlesbrough)
- Viktor Johansson — Rotherham
I hope you have enjoyed this article investigating some potential goalkeepers who could take over as no. 1 at Loftus Road for the 2024/25 season. If you enjoyed this type of work, please let me know and if you have any feedback, it would also be much appreciated!
Thanks, Greg
