Form Guide: Does in-form Heaton warrant shot at England starting spot?

Saturday was undeniably a day of frustration of Manchester United. Jose Mourinho’s side did everything but score in their 0-0 draw with Burnley, mustering a total of 37 shots, their most in a single match since the 2003/04 Premier League season when Opta started collecting data. While poor finishing played a key role in a failure to secure victory, a formidable showing by Clarets goalkeeper Tom Heaton ensured Burnley came away with a share of the spoils. 

With the November internationals looming, his recent showings will have thrust him into the forefront of Gareth Southgate’s thoughts ahead of meetings with Scotland and Spain. Heaton has been a regular in the England squad for some time now, but never ultimately been considered a starter in the national set up. His only cap came late on in a friendly win against Australia back in May and to most is behind Joe Hart and Fraser Forster in the pecking order. 

Once Jack Butland returns to full fitness, many expect Heaton to drop out of the squad entirely, but recent outings suggest Heaton is more than deserving of a spot in the England squad. His 11 saves against United was the joint-most in a Premier League game this season, a record Heaton set when he made 11 saves in Burnley’s 3-1 defeat at Southampton earlier this month. As one might expect, Heaton has made more saves (57) than any other goalkeeper in Europe’s top five leagues this season. 

Following their return to the Premier League under Sean Dyche, Burnley look a far stronger side having experienced relegation in the 2014/15 season. Rather than splash the cash freely in order to bounce back instantly, Dyche kept as much of the core of the squad together, adding only a number of experienced personnel to help with the promotion push or to cover for those who departed for pastures new. 

That allowed for Heaton to build up a rapport with those in front of him with Michael Keane and Ben Mee, and the goalkeeper, starting all 10 of Burnley’s Premier League games this season. The two centre-backs were key members of the Clarets’ return to England’s top tier and have played a vital role in their respectable start to the season. Indeed, with Heaton’s relatively small stature for a goalkeeper, with he standing at ‘just’ 6’2”, he relies more on his defenders to alleviate danger upon his goal from aerial balls into the box. 

Keane ranks second for headed clearances (63) in the Premier League this season, while Mee places fifth (47). That isn’t to say Heaton has completely shirked his responsibilities when it comes to defending high balls into the box, with he claiming 10 crosses this season, but rather he hands over responsibility to Keane and Mee, who are both well-versed in the need to readily clear the ball from danger when required. 

Rather, Heaton more or less plays to his strengths, which include ‘shot stopping’ and ‘saving close range shots’, which has helped him to a save success rate of 80.3%; only Stoke’s Lee Grant (85.7%) has better of Premier League goalkeepers to make five or more appearances this season. Either way, Southgate must be enthused that one of the three main goalkeepers available to him is in such fine form. 

Given Hart’s mixed performances for Torino, Heaton has every reason to believe he can leapfrog the on-loan goalkeeper, at least for the coming international break. Hart’s save success in Italy is a middling 70%, while only Josip Posavec (3) has committed more errors that have led to a goal in Serie A this season than Hart (2). Having earned a place in WhoScored’s Premier League team of the month, Heaton is deserving of his first England start later this month. 

It goes without saying that Heaton is the in-form goalkeeper in England’s top tier this term and with Hart struggling, there is a possible opening for the number one spot for the Three Lions. Forster is in with a shout to step up to the plate, but with Heaton having more to do than Forster - Burnley concede the second most shots per game (21.3) in the Premier League this season compared to Southampton’s 10.3 - it’s arguable that the Clarets man is more deserving of a starting spot for the national team. 

“You can only concentrate on week in and week out, that sort of thing is out of my hands,” the humble Burnley man said when quizzed on a possible England start. “All I want to do is keep performing as best I can and try and get better all the time.” Either way, it’s impossible for Southgate to overlook Heaton in the coming days when he makes his second squad selection as interim England boss with the Clarets captain in such fine form for his club.

Does Tom Heaton deserve the chance at making the England number one spot his own? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below