Martin Dubravka was recalled from his loan spell at Manchester United this week and was given a place on the bench last night as Newcastle faced Arsenal.
The Chronicle has revealed that it was Dubravka himself who activated the clause to return to Newcastle rather than the club recalling him. He is now in contention to start on Saturday when Newcastle face Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup.
Howe spoke of Dubravka’s recall saying: “Martin’s situation is that he wanted to come back, and we were delighted to welcome him back.
“There was never an issue between me and Martin. He’s a top goalkeeper, and I’m delighted to welcome him back to the squad.”
The Chronicle article makes mention of the rumours that Dubravka will be used as part of a swap deal to bring in James Maddison from Leicester in January, and there’s no mention of whether or not such a move would be possible with Dubravka now having been registered for two clubs this season already.
That being said, the fact that it was Dubravka who activated the recall clause and not the club does throw shade on the Maddison theory as I doubt that Dubravka wanted to come back to help Newcastle land James Maddison.
With Loris Karius still to put pen to paper on a contract extension the whole situation seems to be up in the air at the moment.