BORO'S in-form current number one Ross Turnbull has made more saves per game than any other goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League this season.

The 23-year-old from Bishop Auckland has seized his chance between the sticks and produced him most impressive performance yet in the 1-0 win at Wigan last weekend.

Turnbull, who has been named in England U21 squads, has made 27 saves this season according to official OPTA stats, stopping 77% of goal-bound opposition efforts.

That's an average of 4.5 saves per game, just ahead of his nearest competitor, fellow 23-year-old Scott Carson, of West Brom, on 4.42 saves per game.

Next come Aston Villa's Brad Friedel (3.85), Portsmouth's David James (3.71) and Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes.

Turnbull's display at the JJB Stadium caught the eye of Middlesbrough-born Sky Sports pundit Chris Kamara.

"Turnbull was superb in giving Boro their first clean sheet of the season," he wrote in his weekly Sky column.

"He certainly had to work for Boro and actually did a double save when he slipped.

"It is Middlesbrough's first clean sheet of the season and their first away win of 2008, so the monkey is off their back and hopefully they can build on that."



Manager Gareth Southgate has also had warm words of praise for Turnbull, after he decided not to sign an experienced keeper to replace Fulham-bound Mark Schwarzer in the summer.

Australia international Brad Jones was initially given the nod in goal, but Turnbull has not looked back since stepping in after Jones dislocated a finger in the warm-up at Liverpool. 

Turnbull has now made 75 league appearances, having also played on loan at Darlington, Barnsley, Bradford, Crewe and Cardiff.

Keeper	Games	Saves	Saves/game	% saved
Turnbull	6	27	4.5	77
Carson	7	31	4.42	82
Friedel	7	27	3.85	73
James	7	26	3.71	67
Gomes	7	24	3.42	71

*Despite currently being injured, Tuncay remains the top Premier League player in the expert rankings on Sky Sports with an average score of eight out of ten this season.