Sunderland shot-stopper Costel Pantilimon tops the Premier League rankings based on his save rate last season.

Based on a minimum qualifying criteria of 20 games played, Sunderland goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon emerged as the most valuable player in his position last term – having averaged a 77.85% save rate for the Black Cats.

The Wearside outfit suffered something of a relegation scare in 2014/15, having conceded 53 goals over the course of the campaign.

Club Save Rate (%) Costel Pantilimon Sunderland 77.85 Lukasz Fabianksi Swansea 75.27 Fraser Forster Southampton 74.39 Adrian West Ham 74.13 Joe Hart Manchester City 73.10

However, while this was by no means the worst defensive record in the top-flight, it would have been significantly more severe had it not been for the efforts of the 28-year-old Romanian.

Swansea City’s Lukasz Fabianski, Southampton’s Fraser Forster, West Ham United’s Adrian and Manchester City’s Joe Hart complete the division’s top five.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, Newcastle United shot-stopper Tim Krul is among the players with the worst save rate from the previous campaign – which comes as a surprise.

The 27-year-old has been a consistent performer between the sticks for the Magpies over the years, but he evidently struggled during a season of transition for the Tyneside-based club.

Club Save Rate (%) Asmir Begovic Stoke 66.66 Julian Speroni Crystal Palace 64.74 Tim Krul Newcastle 63.84 Allan McGregor Hull 62.14 Tim Sherwood Everton 61.11

Everton fans will also be dismayed to see veteran ‘keeper Tim Howard at the bottom of the pile, with the 36-year-old saving 61.11% of the shots he faced throughout the 2014/15 campaign.

Furthermore, Chelsea summer signing – and Petr Cech replacement – Asmir Begovic, Crystal Palace’s Julian Speroni and Hull City’s Allan McGregor, who will now be plying his trade in the Championship, also fell within the bottom five.

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