Guillaume Restes: the 19 year old goalkeeper destined for the top

The goalkeeper position in football is unique for a multitude of reasons, but perhaps most different from every other position, age is factor that effects a keeper more than anything else. It is extremely rare for a player under the age of 21 to get significant minutes and some don’t get their big break until much later in their careers. It is not uncommon for a goalkeeper to have under 100 career league games at 30 years old, as they tend to mature and flourish with aging and years of coaching. However, when a keeper gets a mix of luck, hard work and pure talent age suddenly becomes irrelevant. For instance, look at the likes of Donnarumma who emerged out of nowhere at 16 years old to regularly start for AC Milan. Or take the man he replaced at number 1 for Italy, Buffon who began to start for Parma at only 17. When a player shows such quality beyond their years at such a young age teams often are willing to take risks, especially when the club is forced with injuries or uncertainty at the number 1 spot. Of course these are 2 extreme examples, but it seems as if there is a new talent that may be following the same course before our eyes. Toulouse goalkeeper Guillame Restes is just 19 years of age but has started all but one game for Toulouse this season. The team sits comfortably in 10th place, improving on their 11th place finish the season before in which Restes played every single game in the league. This statistic is even crazier considering he would’ve been 18 for a large portion of that season. Additionally, Toulouse had won the Coupe de France the season prior, meaning Restes has already tasted European football, starting all 8 games for Les Violets. This season, Restes has built on his form, already keeping one more clean sheet than he did in the whole of last season, with 7 and saving 1 of 2 shots from the penalty spot. However, Restes is still raw and his xGOT faced is lower than goals conceded (18.6 to 20) over 62 shots faced. Furthermore, his save percentage is at 65% over 41 saves total. These underlying stats show that Restes still has a lot to work on, but luckily for him and the club he plays for, time is on his side. Toulouse must be given major credit who were not afraid to bench the more experienced Maxime Dupe who had been the unquestioned number one for 3 straight seasons, a player who had given the glory of promotion and a French cup, instead throwing in an unknown youth team player. That in itself a testament to the club’s continual trust in youth, a trait increasingly rarer as clubs care more about risk, and it is this very risk that Toulouse are reaping the benefits of and will no doubt be rewarded with in the form of a huge transfer sum. When and where Restes will move on is up for debate, but in November last year it was reported that he was the highest valued young goalkeeper in the world, with an estimated price of almost 30 million euros which would be the most expensive transfer in Toulouse’s 55-year history. It has to be said that the more this kid plays, the higher his value will rise, and he will most definitely not come cheap to any suitor, but it is clear that if he keeps playing regularly there is no doubt that Restes will be a top goalkeeper no matter the club, and even less doubt for the French national team.