Which goalkeeper coaches across the UK have been on the move this summer?
Header image: via West Ham United
Liverpool
Xavi Valero
Valero coached 170 games (and countless more training sessions) during Rafa Benitez’s time at Liverpool, before following his Spanish compatriot to Inter Milan for a further six months in 2010. Spells at Chelsea, Napoli, and Real Madrid - again all under Benitez - followed until 2016, when Valero moved to China to work with Manuel Pellegrini at Hebei China Fortune.
The Spaniard returned to the Premier League with Pellegrini when the Chilean took charge of West Ham United in 2018. Pellegrini was sacked the following year, and for the first time in his coaching career Valero worked under a British manager when David Moyes arrived at West Ham. The Scot lasted five years at the helm in the East End and Valero became a long-standing part of the coaching team, mentoring Lukasz Fabianski, Alphonse Areola, and more. He left the club in early July to join Arne Slot at Liverpool.
Colin Stewart
Xavi Valero will be assisted in the goalkeeping department at Liverpool by Scottish goalkeeper coach Colin Stewart. Stewart joins from Rangers, where he initially worked in the academy setup before being promoted to First Team Goalkeeper Coach under Graeme Murty in 2017. As well as working with the team’s senior goalkeepers, Stewart will oversee the loan strategies of younger Liverpool goalkeepers, serving as a link between the ssnior squad, loan management team and U21s group.
Tottenham Hotspur
Fabian Otte
Fabian Otte’s time on Merseyside with Liverpool was short but sweet. After a year and a Premier League title, the highly rated German goalkeeper coach left Anfield along with Claudio Taffarel. He quickly joined Thomas Frank’s coaching team at Tottenham Hotspur, and will mentor Vicario and Anton Kinsky as additions to an already impressive coaching CV which has included the development of the likes of Yann Sommer, Jonas Omlin, Nick Pope, and, of course, Alisson, and Caomhin Kelleher. As part of the move, Rob Burch has left Spurs.
Dean Brill
Dean Brill steps up from his role leading the Spurs’ academy goalkeeping department to join Otte in the first team set up as First Team Assistant Goalkeeper coach.
Brighton and Hove Albion
Jelle ten Rouwelaar
Despite Leicester City’s relegation, Jelle ten Rouwelaar will be returning to a job in the top flight for the forthcoming season, taking the Head of Goalkeeping gig at Brighton. This comes following the departure of both Jack Stern and Marco Knoop.
Stern worked under Graham Potter, Roberto De Zerbi, and Fabian Hurzeler after initially arriving as assistant to Ben Roberts in January 2022. He stepped up to lead the goalkeeping department when Roberts left for Chelsea along with Potter.
Stern’s departure came as a surprise to many Brighton fans, having been a boyhood fan of the club and a mainstay over several different managerial reigns. Knoop, meanwhile, returns home to Germany. Of his departure, Hurzeler remarked, ‘Marco…goes with our thanks and best wishes. He made a lot of sacrifices to join me in England, and I will always be grateful to him for that.’
Ten Rouwelaar, meanwhile, joins with an impressive CV which includes Leicester, Manchester United, and Burnley. The 44-year-old also worked at NAC Breda, Anderlecht, notably with Albion goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen at the latter. He joined United in June 2024 after departing Burnley, before following Ruud van Nistelrooy to Leicester. ‘Jelle is an outstanding coach, and we're really pleased he is joining us,’ Hurzeler said. ‘He has so much experience of European football and the Premier League and will be a strong addition to our coaching staff.’
West Ham United
Casper Ankergren
Giant Dane Ankergren enjoyed a 19-year playing career across Europe with his most notable spells coming at Leeds United and Brighton and Hove Albion. Following Xavi Valero’s move to Liverpool, Graham Potter linked back up with the 45 year old, bringing him to West Ham as Lead First Team Goalkeeping Coach. The pair had previously worked together at Brighton following Ankergren’s retirement. The Dane joins from Brondby, where he’d lead the goalkeeping department since 2021.
Linus Kandolin
Continuing the Scandinavian theme, Ankergren is joined at West Ham this summer by Linus Kandolin who joins West Ham from Swedish club IF Elfsborg, where he spent six years in the goalkeeper coach role. During this time he was also on the coaching staff for the Sweden U21 national team. Kandolin’s move to the London Stadium will see him team up again with West Ham manager Graham Potter, whom he worked for at Östersunds FK between 2015 and 2018.
Sunderland
Neil Cutler
Neil Cutler was once described by Emiliano Martinez as ‘the best English goalkeeper coach.’ High praise indeed. Cutler brings a wealth of knowledge to the newly-promoted Premier League side, with former Head of Goalkeeping Alessandro Barcherini moving more permanently into the Assistant Manager role he assumed following Mike Dodds’ departure to Wycombe in February.
Virtually every club in the Midlands has benefitted from Cutler’s presence in the goalkeeper department. He has coached at Scunthorpe, Walsall, West Brom, Aston Villa, and Wolves over the last 15 years before supporting the England programme at St George’s Park. Cutler brings experiences working with Martinez, Sam Johnstone, Jose Sa, and more to support Anthony Patterson and Sunderland’s other goalkeepers ahead of their first campaign back in the big time since 2017.
Nottingham Forest
Wayne Hennessey
Nottingham Forest have made an internal addition to their goalkeeper coaching team, bringing recently-retired Wayne Hennessey into the fold. The former Wales international spent the last few months of his playing career with Forest from February 2025, and will continue his journey with the club as a coach. Hennessey made 187 Premier League appearances and played over 450 games across a lengthy career, the highlight of which came in 2016 as he played in all but one of the games at the Euros as Wales made it to the semi-finals.
On becoming a coach at Forest, Hennessey said: ‘I am delighted to continue my journey at the Club as part of the coaching staff. I really enjoyed my time as a player here and working with this incredible group. This marks a new chapter in my career, and I’m really looking forward to getting started in the role to help the team towards its goals.’
SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Rangers
Sal Bibbo
Sal Bibbo has enjoyed a long and highly respected career in English football, notably coaching Reading’s goalkeepers during both their promotion campaigns to the Premier League in 2005 and 2012, before working with Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery, and Mikel Arteta at Arsenal. Bibbo also had a spell coaching Sheffield Wednesday’s shot-stoppers under Danny Rohl over the previous two seasons, but now moves to Scotland to work with Jack Butland and Liam Kelly. He also worked with Brighton’s youth goalkeepers between 2021 and 2023.
Dundee
Glen Johnson
Glen Johnson had already been working with Dundee on a short-term basis since the start of pre-season and has now been confirmed as the full-time goalkeeper coach appointment. His coaching career has covered spells in the US and India as well as Scotland's youth team setup. Johnson’s most recent job was at Carlisle United after three years with Queen’s Park followed by time at Gillingham, Dagenham and Redbridge, West Ham United Women, and Braintree Town.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Southampton
Rubén Martínez
New Saints boss Will Still has surrounded himself with experience as he makes his managerial debut in English football. In the goalkeeping department, Spaniard Ruben Martinez has been recruited to lead the union. The 48-year-old represented Barcelona’s B team in his playing days and later worked alongside Tito Vilanova as a coach. He went on to hold coaching roles at Brighton and Watford, as well as Maccabi Tel Aviv, RB Salzburg, Saint-Étienne, Olympiacos, Celta Vigo, and Stade Reims, all alongside Óscar García, before working with Still for a period at Reims.
Millwall
Dean Thornton
Thornton joined Millwall earlier in the summer following six years working under Russell Martin at MK Dons, Swansea, and Southampton. He remained part of Ivan Juric’s coaching staff until the end of the 2024/25 season, when the Saints’ relegation to the Championship saw the appointment of Will Still and the introduction of a new backroom team. He joins Millwall and will work with manager Alex Neil there.
Thornton spoke to Goalkeeper.com in the spring of 2025 about Southampton’s promotion, working with Aaron Ramsdale, his relationship with Russell Martin, the importance of self-reflection, and how talking, listening, and learning makes Premier League goalkeepers and coaches
LEAGUE ONE
Reading
Rob Shay
Long-serving Reading Head of Academy Goalkeeping Rob Shay has this summer stepped up to take the First Team gig following the departure of Tony Warner. Shay had been a core part of a reputable academy goalkeeper programme in Berkshire for his entire footballing career, joining the academy system on the playing side at eight years old before working up through the coaching ranks. He had assisted the development of first team goalkeepers David Button and Joel Pereira over the last two seasons on several occasions.
On the appointment, manager Noel Hunt said ‘Rob is a fantastic addition to the first team staff. Not only is he a fantastic coach but he knows this football club inside out. Rob is a specialist in his field and we are all very pleased that he’s accepted this role of head of goalkeeping!’
Shay added ‘I’m delighted to step into this new role at an exciting point for the club. I’m looking forward to working with the talented goalkeepers we have across the club ensuring we have a comprehensive coaching program in which they can thrive. The role helps to align our Reading goalkeeping principles from top to bottom so our goalkeepers help our teams achieve positive results in the way we saw Joel do so well last year!’
Peterborough
Richard Taylor
Another academy goalkeeper coach making the move to a first team role is Richard Taylor. Taylor has spent the last seven years leading the academy goalkeeping department at Stoke City, and has been announced as the latest part of Darren Ferguson's coaching team.
Speaking to the club's website, Ferguson said 'I gave myself a good amount of time to recruit for this position and analyse and go through everything we were looking for and Richard stood out in terms of what I wanted.
'He has good experience from his time at Stoke City, has worked with the first team goalkeepers there as well, he is at a good age and is ready for a first team environment, there is absolutely no doubt about that.'
Wigan Athletic
Tony Warner
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Tony Warner has departed Reading for fellow League One side Wigan, moving closer to home and joining the coaching staff of Ryan Lowe. Warner had joined Reading upon Paul Ince’s permanent appointment in 2023, and remained on the coaching staff under Ruben Selles and Noel Hunt until this summer. He replaces Andy Lonergan in the role.
Huddersfield Town
Chris Elliott
Replacing the highly experienced Andy Quy at Huddersfield is Chris Elliott, joining the Terriers from Leeds United. He held the Head of Academy Goalkeeping role at Elland Road before joining Lee Grant’s coaching staff earlier this summer. ‘It’s really pleasing to have Chris join us and complete our coaching staff’, Grant said in a statement on the club's website. ‘Chris is a young coach with progressive ideas and a growing reputation, with his outlook and work ethic in line with my own and our entire coaching unit,’ he continued.
Bolton Wanderers
Owain Fôn Williams
Fôn Williams steps back up to League One to join Bolton Wanderers, following a three-year stint as Fleetwood Town’s goalkeeper coach. The Welshman brings a wealth of experience from a playing career comprising over 500 senior appearances, including being a part of the Wales squad that reached the semi-finals of the Euros in 2016.
LEAGUE TWO
MK Dons
Tom Weal
Changes in the coaching structure at Sunderland saw Tom Weal, who won promotion with Sunderland to the Premier League at the beginning of the summer, return to MK Dons who he left to join the Black Cats in February 2025. Weal originally stepped in to take on the First Team Goalkeeper Coach role at Sunderland, allowing Alessandro Barcherini to take on a wider brief following the departure of assistant manager Mike Dodds. Weal now returns to a new-look Paul Warne coaching staff at the League Two club, who will be gunning for promotion this season.
‘I'm delighted to be returning to Stadium MK! I loved my time here last season, even if it was only brief! I'm so excited to be back in the building ahead of what promises to be a really exciting season for the club’, Weal said regarding the return. ‘I know a few of the goalkeepers from my previous stint, which will certainly help us hit the ground running. I've had a wonderful time working at Sunderland and now feel I have even more to offer to MK Dons. I'm really looking forward to working with Paul Warne, and I can't wait to get going.’
Fleetwood Town
Barry Roche
Barry Roche joins Fleetwood in place of Owain Fon Williams, who departed the club after three years at the end of the season. After hanging up his gloves in 2020, Roche took up a coaching role at Morecambe, eventually becoming their Head of Goalkeeping. The Irishman also had two caretaker managerial spells at the club during transitional periods in 2019 and 2022. He made more than 575 senior professional appearances in a longevous playing career.
