Forget ‘League One’ - Wes Foderingham is highlighting his Premier League quality with Sheffield United

Forget the ‘League One’ nickname he was unfairly given by Paulo Di Canio all those years ago and has stuck with him ever since, used in a playful fashion by some of his Sheffield United teammates. Wes Foderingham has been Premier League level so far this season - and was even included in a media graphic recently which suggested how the England team should look if it were picked on statistics and performances in the current campaign.

Now 32, Foderingham had to wait until this season to make his long-awaited debut in the English Premier League and in doing so becoming the latest player to appear in all four divisions of English football - with a spell in the SPL for Glasgow giants Rangers thrown in for good measure. Used as United’s No.2 goalkeeper when United were last in the top-flight, Foderingham has seen off the challenges of international goalkeepers in Robin Olsen and Adam Davies to establish himself as United’s firm first-choice and continued to justify that selection with another fine display away at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

It was another game that Foderingham did not deserve to be on the wrong side of, after a string of fine saves to deny Son and Yves Bissouma and Dejan Kulusevski before the dam finally burst inside 12 minutes of stoppage time. Opta’s ‘expected goals’ statistics suggest that Foderingham should have conceded more than two goals more than his actual number so far this season - the fourth-best record in the division already - while no goalkeeper has faced more shots or made more saves in 2023/24 to date.

Despite that, six teams - including Aston Villa and Manchester United - have conceded more goals than United so far this term. But in a season in which new signings Gus Hamer and Vini Souza have impressed, and the capture of £18m striker Cameron Archer grabbed the headlines, Foderingham’s consistency levels and ability suggest a danger that he could go under the radar at times.

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“I’ve got a lot of time for him,” said boss Paul Heckingbottom. “I like how he is in goal. He doesn’t go under the radar with me but I haven’t had to do a lot with him. Naturally he suits my eye in terms of what I want from a goalkeeper. He’s calm when we have the ball, I encourage him to be positive in everything he does in terms of coming for things and just like we want to be on the pitch, I want aggression and everyone’s body language to be on the front foot. It’s the same with the goalkeeper. And I think that suits him and he seems to like that.

“There are one or two bits in his game that tactically we’re trying to improve, to improve the backline with and without the ball which he gets, because he’s got a good brain and gets the ball. He probably does go under the radar but I think back to that Man City game, when he made one or two unbelievable saves, and we lost the game 2-1. From a silly point of view I’d rather he had those games when we’re 1-0 up.

“We’ve spoken about moments going for us, whether not getting that penalty at Forest with Will Osula or Jordan Pickford’s save in the last minute against Everton. We also have to have big players and big games at the right time to get results. So hopefully he can produce one of those every game and then give us the best chance.”