Goalkeepers don’t get injured very often. Unless you’re Enzo Maresca or Roberto De Zerbi, they don’t rotate much either. So why do so many clubs – especially in the Championship – spend big on backup keepers? Hull City’s 2024–25 season offers a case study in how costly that approach can be.
Three first-choice keepers
Ivor Pandur was the undisputed number one – and rightly so. He barely missed a game and ended the season as Hull’s Player of the Season. Behind him, the club already had Thimothée Lo-Tutala and Harvey Cartwright, both capable of filling in if needed.
But then came Anthony Racioppi, signed from Young Boys for around €1 million. He played just once in the EFL Cup before being loaned to FC Köln in January, where he didn’t feature at all. Köln declined to buy him.
On top of that, Hull had Carl Rushworth on loan from Brighton. He made two league appearances and one in the FA Cup before being recalled halfway through the season.
What did it all cost?
The numbers aren’t precise, but a ballpark estimate looks like this:
- Transfer fee: £850,000 for Racioppi
- Wages: At roughly £10,000 per week for Racioppi and Rushworth, that’s about £400,000 over five months
- Other costs: Agent fees, signing bonuses, and one unused loan slot
In just one season, Hull likely spent over £1.5 million on two goalkeepers who barely played.
Is it worth it?
You could argue that without solid backup, a major injury to Pandur could have derailed the season. But how bad would Lo-Tutala – signed from Spurs – really have been in an emergency?
Year after year, second and third-choice keepers end up as expensive insurance policies that rarely pay out. For a club frequently flirting with FFP limits, a trio of Pandur, Lo-Tutala and Cartwright might have done the job without compromising the quality of the squad.
Inevitably, though, a new goalkeeper is said to be high on the club’s shopping list for the 2025–26 season. If the concern is age or experience, you have to ask: would keeping Matt Ingram around as a steady number two not have made more sense all along?
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