Newcastle find themselves with an abundance of goalkeepers now after Martin Dubravka cut short his loan deal at Manchester United.
That means the Magpies have Nick Pope, Dubravka, Karl Darlow, Loris Karius and Mark Gillespie on the books, although Gillespie has not been registered in the 25 man squad.
Loris Karius, the former Liverpool stopper, came in following Dubravka’s loan move to provide cover as Karl Darlow picked up an injury mere days after Dubs’ move to Old Trafford. The German had to wait to make his debut for the Magpies but did so during the mid-season friendlies that were played during the World Cup.
Karius looked extremely comfortable and capable, even winning over a few doubters amongst fans who only remembered him for that torrid Champions League final that cost Liverpool the trophy.
However, the short-term status of his deal suggested that if/when Martin Dubravka returned to the club, Karius would be released, but now The Daily Mail think that Karius is set to be offered a new contract and Karl Darlow will be told he can go out on loan this month provided Pope and Dubravka stay injury free.
Dubravka is of course, cup-tied for the Carabao Cup having played for Manchester United in their cup campaign, which means Darlow or Karius, will be on the bench for the semi-final legs against Southampton.
With Newcastle set to wait till the end of the window before allowing Darlow to move, seeing who is on the bench for those games at the back end of January will likely give us a good insight as to what’s happening with Karius’ contract situation and which one is likely to be moving come the end of the month.