Exclusive: Don Goodman names the 3 best goalkeepers in the EFL Championship right now | OneFootball

The Sky Sports pundit has named the three shot-stoppers that have caught his eye so far this season

Sky Sports pundit and EFL expert Don Goodman has revealed which three goalkeepers have caught his eye the most in the early stages of the current Championship season.

We are still in the early stages of the 2025/26 second-tier campaign, and it has been a season which has already thrown up a plethora of surprise performances from individuals and teams alike, proving why the division remains one of the most enthralling and unpredictable across the entirety of world football.

As is so often the case too, there are so many highly-rated, talented and experienced goalkeepers that currently ply their trade in the Championship as all 24 teams look to work towards their overall goal for the season, whether that be automatic promotion, a play-off spot, mid-table consolidation, or merely avoiding relegation down to League One.

Unsurprisingly, the debate as to which side boasts the honour of having the best shot-stopper in the second-tier continues to generate plenty of divisive discourse among the 24 sets of fanbases, and it is one which pundits can often find tricky to give a definitive answer on, particularly with there being such a limited sample size to go off since the beginning of the campaign.

However, Goodman was able to narrow it down to three selections when speaking exclusively to Football League World about which players have impressed him most.

Don Goodman selects the 3 best EFL Championship goalkeepers right now

Before explaining the reasoning behind each individual pick, Goodman was eager to stress that the majority of his thought process relates to performances in the opening five rounds of the season, rather than a strong focus on what happened during the 2024/25 campaign.

"A difficult question, obviously," the 59-year-old told FLW. "Right now, I'm going to focus on this season. So, rather than 'who are the best keepers in the Championship', who have been the best keepers so far this season?

"Right at the top, you have to say Nicolas Schmid at Portsmouth," Goodman claimed. "According to data, has prevented 2.8 xG.

"He's been brilliant and really helped Portsmouth be a really tight defensive unit.

"Also up there in that regard, with the highest save percentage is Radek Vitek at Bristol City," the pundit added. "Again, he's been outstanding for his team that have kept things tight.

"And, I have to throw in Viktor Johansson at Stoke," Goodman stated.

"I just think, for consistency and the way he pretty much, single-handedly kept Stoke in the division. I know I'm talking about this season, but last season he effectively kept them up. And, he's got off to a good start this season.

"Those would be my three," he continued.

"A surprise omission, Michael Cooper, who ran James Trafford close as the best last season. He just hasn't managed to get going this season, so hopefully the re-introduction of Chris Wilder will see him back to his best."

All of Goodman's picks are extremely valid, and not many EFL onlookers and supporters are likely to dispute them.

As referenced, Schmid is by far and away the best goalkeeper when it comes to goal prevention so far, which has been key to Portsmouth's solid start under John Mousinho, and they will hope his wrist issue sustained in the South Coast derby with Southampton isn't all too serious.

Vitek has also adapted well to life in the Championship for the first time in his career, already proving why he is so highly rated at parent club, Manchester United.

Meanwhile, Johansson's pedigree as a leading second-tier goalkeeper had been well-documented during his previous spell at Rotherham United despite the Millers' lowly positions in the table.

The Swedish international was integral in preserving Stoke's status in the division last term, and has, unsurprisingly, picked up where he left off with two clean sheets during an impressive first month of the campaign for Mark Robins' men, proving exactly why there was summer interest from West Ham United.