The 21-year-old shot-stopper has endured a tough first season in the Premier League having conceded 41 goals in 24 appearances – the most of any goalkeeper. On raw stats, Bazunu has by far the lowest expected goals prevented and the team’s two clean sheets is the fewest of any in the Premier League. Bazunu’s goalkeeping was called into question again during the 1-0 defeat at Leeds United, in a vital relegation six-pointer, as Junior Firpo’s shot squirmed through him. He had previously only played as high as League One with Portsmouth – where he was a standout performer – and needs time to reach his full potential as a keeper.
Ruben Selles said: “It’s a goal that we all concede. It’s the main fault for me because I should be more gracious in the situation and give them more tools to solve the situations. Next time, we will try to be ready. When we concede a goal it’s not a Gavin problem or a centre-back problem, we concede the goal as a team. We should have removed those situations earlier in the game. We trust Gavin but we know we can lose a football match. The disappointing thing is we lost a little bit of our identity.”
Bazunu last week told the Daily Echo that he would not trade his first season’s experience for anything. Selles has now backed the youngster and insisted his mentality will carry him through difficult spells.
Ruben Selles said: “If you know Gavin, you know he’s a very strong character and a strong personality. I have no doubt about him and I have no doubt about his personality to get over this. It’s true that he’s the goalkeeper in Europe under 21 who has played the most minutes. It’s true that we concede some goals and he was there when we conceded them as he’s been number one all season. But we need to remove those situations much earlier and it’s not on one person. The mistake is in all of us. I know sometimes it looks like nobody takes responsibility, but the responsibility is my responsibility. So if somebody should be blamed for the goal then it is me.”
