On the 28th June, Mikki Van Sas was another summer addition unveiled to the Chairboys supporters, which was met with optimism. Once again the ownership had secured the capture with a transfer fee, but surprisingly it was from Dutch giants Feyenoord.

With little known about the Dutch 21 year-old goalkeeper, many fans started to google into his past and watch any available clips they could source on YouTube. And the early indications showed promising signs.

An ex Manchester City youth goalkeeper who spent the previous season on loan with a struggling Vitesse Arnhem. Despite a challenging season, Van Sas displayed good shot-stopping skills with good levels of distribution. All the traits that nod towards the modern day desires of a goalkeeper, and it was clear to see why he ticked a lot of the scouting checklists.

One question however still hoovers over him: Can those early signs of development and raw ability be good enough for an aspirational League One club looking for a steady influence to grow with the club and be the Number One for years?

Mike Dodds backed him as he led the team in its opening game at Valley Parade against Bradford City. But within 13 minutes of the game, Wycombe were already two down with Van Sas seemingly gifting the first to a pouncing Antoni Sarcevic.

Nerves clearly played a part and one he reflected at the time. But the result that day wasn’t down to Van Sas, as he pulled off numerous saves that day to keep the scoreline down to only two goals. One noticeably being a spectacular reaction to a Stephen Humphrys header at point blank range.

The team however struggled with transitioning from pre-season into meaningful league form. Seven league games later, eleven goals conceded and with the club finding itself hoovering above the relegation places, Mike Dodds was shown the door and replaced by a more pragmatic and experienced coach in Michael Duff.

Van Sas was still the trusted Number One until defeat away at Wimbledon saw Duff make a change by introducing Will Norris as his preferred goalkeeper. And to Norris’ credit, he’s barely put a foot wrong. He’s been a contributing factor behind the changing Chairboys fortunes with his form and demonstrating some assured performance alongside growth from the previous season.

Understandly, the young Van Sas will prove to be a frustrated figure on the sidelines. The undesirable stats that he has so far obtained this season are more a reflection of a leaky defence that had lost confidence, lacked an understanding of styles (under Dodds) and failed to show any signs of being able to harness a mentality of being convincing in games.

Combine this with signs in Van Sas’ own distribution where it’s lacked the maturity of a more established goalkeeper and those noises suddenly seem amplified. Hidden in those metrics however is another story. One that highlights a far more positive outlook.

In the eleven games that Van Sas has started, he has faced a far greater number of shots compared to Norris. A massive 227% more vs Norris or in simpler terms 41 shots. Of those shots, 31 have been from closer range (shots inside the box) of which Van Sas is credited with preventing 13.1 expected goals on target (xGOT).

When we compare this with Norris, he is credited with preventing 5.32 expected goals. Not only does this allow us to truly appreciate the difference in circumstances between the two periods, but the expected goals metric also measures the impact of the shots taken on goal.

This is a better metric to measure the effectiveness of a goalkeeper compared to clean sheets which can be misconstrued and is more likely to be a reflection of defensive/team attribute. This is also a nod to how much better Wycombe have played as a defensive unit under Duff than previously under Dodds.

The big question now for Van Sas is: Can he now reset himself and become the Number One? Given the recent illness for Norris, the opportunity presented itself and against Rotherham United he proved himself with a Man of the Match performance, pulling off some important saves whilst showing composure and with a more established back line in front of him.

This also shows his resilience and is a testament to his mentality. Especially for someone of his age coming into a relatively different environment.

For me, Van Sas has yet to mature and that will come when he plays more games. And with more games comes better decision making. As a young goalkeeper particularly, when mistakes take place they will always get amplified compared to similar circumstances from an outfield player. Whilst statistically Van Sas’s achievements might not be converted amongst the elite within League One, traits are showing a positive upward trajectory.

Let’s be patient with Mikki, even with the competition of Norris – this can be the grounding he needs to improve his game and become our number one for years to come.