David Raya's Save Against Brighton Nominated for Save of the Season

David Raya’s flying fingertip stop against Brighton & Hove Albion has earned him a place on the shortlist for the Premier League’s Save of the Season award, capping a campaign in which he already claimed the Golden Glove.

The moment came in December, in a tight 2-1 win at home to the Seagulls. Brighton were pushing, the game still on edge, when Yankubah Minteh shaped a curling effort towards the top left corner. It looked perfect. Height, bend, pace. The kind of strike that usually rips past a beaten keeper and into the highlights reel.

Raya had other ideas.

He exploded to his right, driving off his line and stretching every inch of his frame, thrusting out his right hand at full extension. The slightest of touches was all he could find. It was enough. The ball flicked off his fingertips and away from danger, a save of pure reflex and timing that preserved the lead and, ultimately, the points.

That stop was rightly named the Premier League’s Save of the Month for December. The award pushed Raya level at the top of the all-time leaderboard for most Save of the Month wins, joining Andre Onana and Jordan Pickford on three apiece. It underlined what the Golden Glove already suggested: this was a goalkeeper operating at the very highest level.

Now the Spaniard steps onto an even bigger stage. His December heroics are one of the standout contenders for Save of the Season, set against a strong field. Raya’s effort will be judged alongside stops from James Trafford (Manchester City), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City), Martin Dubravka (Burnley), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Alphonse Areola (West Ham United), Aaron Ramsdale (Newcastle United), Karl Darlow (Leeds United) and Antonin Kinsky (Tottenham Hotspur).

In a season defined by fine margins, Raya’s glove has already delivered silverware. The question now is whether that outstretched right hand will also be crowned with the league’s most spectacular individual goalkeeping prize.