Everton have signed goalkeeper Jonas Lossl on a free transfer from Huddersfield Town. The Danish shot stopper will join The Toffee’s on July 1, where he will most likely be back-up to England International, Jordan Pickford. Lossl joins from relegated Huddersfield, who finished the season bottom with just 16 points after 3 wins, 7 draws and 28 defeats.
Aged 31, Lossl joins on a three year deal and whilst Maarten Stekelenburg remains at the club, it is likely that Lossl will be number two as Marco Silva increases the competition for places amongst the squad. Stekelenburg played just two fixtures last season, both being in the league cup, and with just a year left on his contract, the signing of Lossl from Huddersfield on a free appears to be very good business by the Toffees.
“It is a really exciting challenge, and my feeling is that it is the right one at this time of my career. I have been picked up to fill a free seat in the goalkeeper team, but there is also no doubt that Jordan is an excellent goalkeeper” – Jonas Lossl speaking with TV 2 Sport.
Player History
Lossl started his career at FC Midtylland, where he rose through the academy, making his debut in the senior team in 2010. He then went on to play 137 matches for the club, keeping 44 clean sheets (1 every 3.1 games) in the process. In 2014 he joined French club Guingamp, initially playing second fiddle, however he did take the number one jersey during his time at the club and made 82 appearances in his 2 seasons with the club.
After spending just two seasons at Guingamp, Lossl joined Mainz 05 as a replacement for Loris Karius, who had been sold to Liverpool. Lossl made 34 appearances for the French club, keeping just 6 clean sheets (1 every 5.5 games) during the 2016/17 season. After a single season, Lossl joined Huddersfield on loan in the 2017/18 Premier League season and after a successful loan spell, this move was made permanent, signing for an undisclosed fee. During his time at Huddersfield Lossl he made 72 appearances, keeping 15 clean sheets (1 every 4.7 games) across the two seasons.
Lossl has also had some success at International level, having played 22 games for a variety of Danish youth teams. That said, Lossl currently has strong competition from Kasper Schmeichel for the number one jersey and has made just the single appearance for the Danish senior team, being against Scotland in 2016.
Fantasy Football Potential
As already mentioned, Lossl has previous Premier League experience with Huddersfield. In his first season (2017/18) he played all 38 fixtures keeping 10 clean sheets and scoring 135 fantasy premier league points in the process, ending the season with a price tag of £4.6m.
In his second season in the Premier League, the Danish shot stopper’s position as the number one keeper was under threat from Ben Hamer who started 7 fixtures and Joel Coleman who started the final fixture of the season. This meant that Lossl only started 30 fixtures, keeping 5 clean sheets and scoring 99 fantasy premier league points, ending the season with a price of £4.4m. During the season, the Danish shot stopper managed 88 saves across the 31 fixtures, averaging 2.8 saves per game.
Across the two seasons, Lossl managed a point every 26.5 minutes, which considering his price tag and the team he was playing for isn’t actually too bad. Last season there was only one keeper priced £4.4m or less with more points than him, being Mathew Ryan (104 points). That said, if you compare those keepers that started with a price of £4.5m, here is how he compares:
| Goalkeeper | Mins per Clean Sheet | Mins per Save | Mins per Goal Conceded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jonas Lossl | 555.4 | 31.6 | 54.4 |
| Neil Etheridge | 342.0 | 24.3 | 49.6 |
| Lucas Fabianski | 488.6 | 23.1 | 62.2 |
| Ben Foster | 488.6 | 26.7 | 58.0 |
| Rui Patricio | 416.3 | 34.3 | 72.4 |
| Mathew Ryan | 510.0 | 31.6 | 55.6 |
Comparing Lossl to those that started the season with the same price (£4.5m) it is clear that he didn’t perform as well, coming rock bottom for minutes per clean sheet and second last for minutes per save & minutes per goal conceded. That said, being relegated with Huddersfield, this could have been somewhat due to the team in front of him and it should also be noted that Everton also signed Pickford from a relegated side.
All being said, Lossl is unlikely to be a fantasy unless there is an injury to Pickford, or if he can make a break into the starting XI as he did at his previous teams. He was not able to hold down the number one jersey at Huddersfield, which does question whether or not he will be able to break through into the Everton starting XI. From a Fantasy Premier League perspective it is likely that he will hold his value of £4.5m, however he could be dropped to £4.0m being in line with Everton’s back up keeper last season (Stekelenburg). From the start of the season there will likely be more effective options at that price tag and should only be considered if you attempt the “set and forget” strategy with your keepers.
