Zion Suzuki is only one of the few foreign goalkeepers who were named as the first choice instantly without any previous experience in the English football.

Aston Villa have made quite a bold decision this season by releasing their star between the sticks in the past seasons, The World Cup winner, Emiliano Martinez in favor of the 24-year old Zion Suzuki. Despite having no Premier League experience, Emery has faith in him. 

So far, the Japanese international has been in form, playing well and impressed the fans not only with a number of his saves and his fine ability to distribute the ball from the backline through accurate long balls. 

Unfortunately, this weekend was not his day to remember. The former Parma man made a costly unforced error leading to Fulham’s equalizer in the game, despite making four crucial saves. 

Filling in the big shoes of Martinez is not always easy, especially for those foreign figures without experience playing in England. It can certainly be tough.

Suzuki is definitely not the first foreign goalkeeper who is selected instantly as the number one in the team. The likes of Mark Bosnich, Thomas Sorensen, Brad Guzan or even Martinez himself were named as the first choice after being the understudy first or playing for their rivals before. 

Unsurprisingly, there were only two names who had experienced the same situation as Suzuki. Yet, neither of them were playing for the Premier League as they moved to Villa during their bleak years in the Championship. 

Pierluigi Gollini (2016/17 season)

He was signed by Roberto Di Matteo when he was still 21 years old from Hellas Verona for Aston Villa’s first season in the second tier. Gollini was supposed to be doing well as he had spent his youth with Manchester United U19 and U21 for two years from 2012 to 2014. 

Unfortunately, his one-year experience in Serie A as the first choice was not enough to handle pressure in England. The current Roma man already made a blunder in his debut against Sheffield Wednesday at the opener leading to Villa’s 1-0 defeat. 

Sadly, it was not his last error. Gollini was involved in more costly errors in the other two games, versus Huddersfield and Leeds. His error led to Villa’s tie in the former and conceding more in the latter as The Lions were dismantled by The Whites 2-0. 

Overall, the shot stopper who thrived in Atalanta under Gian Gasperini only managed to play 20 games, with only five clean sheets. He was loaned back to Serie A’s side Atalanta in January 2017. He has established himself as the solid goalie with La Dea. Gollini did return to England with Spurs as a loanee in the 2021/22 season but largely as Hugo Lloris’ deputy. 

Orjan Nyland (2018/19 season) 

The 36-year old goalie was snatched by The Lions from Bundesliga 2 side, Ingolstadt. He was named the number one for 23 games in the second tier league before losing his spot due to his achilles tendon rupture injury. Such kept him out of the squad till the end of the season when Villa finally gained their promotion to the top flight with his deputy, Jed Steer, as his replacement. 

Despite playing regularly, Nyland’s form was not particularly convincing. He only made six clean sheets and tended to have a shaky performance between the sticks. His worst form was when Villa was routed in a 4-1 loss by Sheffield United and held by Nottingham Forest in goal galore tie, 5-5. 

After he was fit, the Norwegian international could not regain his place in the 2019/20 as Dean Smith preferred a more experienced figure, Tom Heaton, in the top flight. Overall, Nyland managed to play 36 times for The Lions, including seven Premier League games, with eight clean sheets only in all competitions. He then moved to Norwich City before plying his trade abroad with Sevilla and RB Leipzig.