After failing in their attempts to land Manchester United ‘keeper Dean Henderson, Newcastle will now turn their attention to relegated Burnley and their Number 1, Nick Pope.
Sky Sports’ Keith Downie reports that Newcastle will offer Pope a route back to the Premier League with the stopper “likely” to leave Burnley following their relegation.
Pope is a new name in the frame as Newcastle look for options between the sticks. He has spent six years at Turf Moor, making over 140 appearances. The 6’5″ stopper’s form even earned him eight England caps.
While Nick Pope is definitely an outstanding goalkeeper, he doesn’t seem to fit the bill as a Newcastle target given the other ‘keepers linked to the club. Previous targets have been more ball-playing goalkeepers, sweeper-keepers, if you will, and have been notably younger than Pope who has just turned 30 this year.
However, after seemingly being priced out of a move for Henderson, it’s not a bad back-up going for another England International goalkeeper, especially if we look at the current Newcastle back line with Trippier, an established International and Dan Burn and Matt Targett knocking on Southgate’s door. It could be a predominantly Newcastle-based defence going to Qatar in the winter. Could you imagine? Oh and let’s not forget Callum Wilson up front too, given the impotence of the front line shown by England in the Nations League surely, Southgate needs to look at a plan B.
Up next: How many points could Newcastle get to kick off next season?