Newcastle United will be without Nick Pope for several months but the Magpies look set to throw their backing behind Martin Dubravka rather than dipping into the free agent market this month
Newcastle United would be unable to recruit a free agent to replace Nick Pope this month unless the Premier League granted special permission.
Pope is expected to be out for several months after dislocating his shoulder in Saturday’s 1-0 triumph over Manchester United. That setback has fueled speculation that Newcastle could make a move for David de Gea before the January transfer market opens, and ChronicleLive understands the former Manchester United goalkeeper would consider Newcastle a “real option.” However, it is worth noting that Eddie Howe has backed Martin Dubravka, who replaced Pope at the weekend, and, also, that de Gea’s previous wages at Manchester United would smash the club’s tight structure.
Regardless, ChronicleLive understands no changes can be made to a squad list outside of a transfer window without the specific consent of the Premier League board. Special cases can be made for goalkeepers, but this would only really apply if a club had only one senior shot-stopper available. Newcastle, of course, still have three in the form of Dubravka, Loris Karius, and Mark Gillespie.
Karius was signed in the first place on a short-term deal last year after Karl Darlow suffered an ankle injury to leave Newcastle with just two senior ‘keepers in Pope and Gillespie after Dubravka was loaned to Manchester United. However, Newcastle were still able to sign Karius, a free agent, outside of the window because the contract was signed before the squad list deadline. No consent would have been needed from the Premier League board as a result because it would not have been a squad list change.
Unlike that situation, though, Newcastle now have the luxury of being able to call upon a number two in Dubravka, who has already played 130 games in the top flight and is his country’s first-choice goalkeeper. Dubravka also impressed on his last start for Newcastle against former club Manchester United last month; the Slovakia international kept a clean sheet in a 3-0 win and made a crucial save to deny Mason Mount right before half-time.
“The good positive signs from Martin are that in his last full start, I thought he was outstanding against Manchester United away in the Carabao Cup, where he was composed, and he’s performed really well for his country, as well as that they recently qualified for the Euros, so he’s in a really good place,” Howe told BBC Radio Newcastle. “He’s very positive, and he did really well and showed his experience today because that wasn’t an easy 15 minutes for any goalkeeper to come in, especially in the cold conditions, but he did very well.”
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