Much of the talk surrounding young goalkeeping talent this summer revolved around the exploits and futures of Manchester United targets Manuel Neuer and David De Gea, with the latter eventually signing for the Red Devils in a big money deal.
However, there have been plenty of sides handing chances to youthful keepers, with some repaying the faith shown in them with eye-catching performances. In fact, in the previous round of Bundesliga matches, 10 of the starting 18 stoppers were 23 or under, with half of those 21 or under.
It is in the Bundesliga where we kick off our scouting search, following a teenager who is slowly establishing himself as his sides number 1 and hoping to leap frog the aforementioned Neuer as Germany's leading keeper.
Age: 19, WhoScored Rating: 7.51
Local boy ter Stegen is fast becoming a hero for his hometown club of Borussia Monchengladbach. Having conceded 62 goals in their opening 28 matches last season, Gladbach were staring relegation from the top-flight in the face before they drafted in 19-year-old ter Stegen. In the final 6 games of the season the youngster conceded just 3 goals and kept 3 clean sheets to ensure they had a chance of survival through the relegation play-offs, eventually beating Bochum to stay in the division.
Ter Stegen has carried his form from the tail end of last season into this, conceding just 3 goals in the opening 4 games of the campaign having cemented the number 1 slot. He picked up a WhoScored man of the match award in the opening day victory over Bayern Munich, with a Neuer blunder giving the underdogs a 1-0 win, keeping a clean sheet in the process. So far he has been kept busy, making an excellent 5.5 saves and 3 good claims per game.
In his 10 first team starts overall, the young German has never conceded more than 1 goal in a single match, helping his side to a 5th placed standing thus far. A look at WhoScored's character ratings show that the confident young stopper is strong when it comes to short range saves, with his reflexes a key asset. A modern-style keeper who is equally comfortable with the ball at his feet as in his hands, it will surely not be long until ter Stegen is noticed by the masses and the big clubs come calling.
Age: 20, WhoScored Rating: 7.75
Having slumped to a resounding 5-1 defeat in their season opener to Rennes following promotion from Ligue 2, Dijon replaced experienced stopper Jean-Daniel Padovani with the unknown youngster Baptiste Reynet. Having never played a senior game for the club before, the 20-year-old was thrown in at the deep-end in an eventual 2-0 loss to Toulouse. The youngster kept the hosts at bay for 71 minutes, making 5 saves and 4 good claims in the match to impress sufficiently to earn a start next time out.
In the 2 games following his debut, Reynet has kept clean sheets against Lorient and fellow newcomers Evian respectively in successive wins for the side. His display in the former earned him a man of the match rating of 9 from WhoScored after making 6 stops and 2 good claims. He continued this impressive form by making 3 saves and 2 good claims next time out, meaning he has made 4.7 saves and 2.7 good claims per game over the season.
His 7.75 rating from WhoScored is the best of any keeper in Ligue 1 thus far and his displays will no doubt be drawing attention from across Europe as he looks to make the Dijon number 1 jersey his own.
Age: 19, WhoScored Rating: 7.68
Upon his arrival at Stamford Bridge, Andre Villas-Boas' first signing was not the big name fans might have expected, but a relatively unheard of one in teenage keeper Thibaut Courtois. The 19-year-old Belgian signed from Genk before immediately being turfed out on loan to Atletico Madrid, replacing a certain David De Gea who left for Blues' title rivals United.
The Portuguese boss was keen to get in first for the youngster who was a mainstay in the Jupiler Pro League last year at just 18. Making 40 appearances in the league and league play-offs combined in Belgium's elite division, Courtois kept a fantastic 14 clean sheets and conceded just 39 goals- less than one a game.
His first game for Atletico came in a 4-0 away win over Portuguese side Vitoria in the Europa League qualifiers, keeping a clean sheet in the game and ensuring a starting berth in the sides opening league fixture with Osasuna. In picking up a WhoScored rating of 7.68, Courtois kept his second successive clean sheet in a stalemate 0-0 draw, making 2 saves and an impressive 5 good claims. With Cech now injured at Chelsea, one can assume that the option to recall the player wasn't in the loan contract agreed with the Spanish side, with Villas-Boas potentially regretting his decision to let the youngster go, though in the long-run it could prove to be an excellent move.
Age: 20, WhoScored Rating: 7.4
After a torrid start to his Manchester United career, young Spaniard David De Gea is slowly finding his feet at the club. Errors in the Community Shield victory over fierce rivals City were added to by another blunder in the league opener against West Brom, and it is fair to say that teams are testing the youngsters resolve.
Despite playing for the Champions, who already top the table this season, De Gea has saved more shots than any other keeper in the league with 17. With just 2 coming on his league debut, the ex-Atletico man made up for his former gaffes by making an excellent 9 stops in the following game with Spurs, keeping his first clean sheet for the club. He then produced 6 saves in the 8-2 drubbing of Arsenal, with one coming from the spot to ensure a highly respected average rating of 7.4 from WhoScored.
Despite obvious progression being made and nerves settling somewhat in his game, De Gea certainly still has plenty to improve upon having conceded a routine near post effort last time out against the Gunners. If he is to live up to the highest of standards set by his predecessor van der Sar, he will need to iron out some early errors.
