An agonising 3-1 defeat on the last day of the season saw Atletic Bilbao miss out on a top six finish and qualification for the Europa League. They can be more than pleased with their efforts in La Liga this season and uncovered some real gems, none more so than young goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
After a long season in the top six, it fell apart dramatically for Bilbao as they managed just one point in their last three games. They have recorded some impressive results this season and recorded wins over Barcelona and Sevilla along with a draw against Atletico Madrid. Their squad is still young and if they can keep the core of these players together, there is no telling what they can achieve.
Veteran goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz, who will turn 37 years old this year, looked like he was going to be Bilbao’s number 1 this season and in his first two matches he conceded 3 goals, however as one of those matches was a 1-0 defeat away to Barcelona, he could be forgiven for those stats. In total, he made 15 starts in La Liga and performed reasonably well, keeping 3 clean sheets and conceding a total of 21 goals. His fantasy football value is 4.5M and having earned just 5 points over the course of this season, he has a rather low price/performance ratio of 2.7.
He was displaced by young up and coming keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and this is one young player who looks destined for the very top. Aged just 22, he looks set to be at the centre of a transfer battle in this close season. It has been rumoured that Real Madrid and Arsenal will go to battle to land the youngsters signature and given his outstanding performances this season, it’s hardly surprising.
In his 23 league starts this season he has kept 8 clean sheets and conceded just 22 goals, which, given the high-scoring league he is plying his trade in, is hugely impressive. At the beginning of this season, he could have been in your fantasy football team for just 1.5M, however, there is no chance of him being available at that price for the 2017/18 season. He racked up a total of 41 points and has a price/performance ratio of 26.0.
Whether or not he will stay for another season at Atletic Bilbao remains to be seen, however, if he continues his improvement at the rate seen this season, Kepa Arrizabalaga is a name we will be hearing much more of.
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