Newcastle will finalise a deal for England goalkeeper Nick Pope by the end of the week in a move that reveals plenty about Eddie Howe’s planned squad rebuild.
A £10m deal for Pope is good business for Newcastle, with Burnley required to sell to fund their Championship rebuild under Vincent Kompany. The player is due on Tyneside for a medical on Thursday with the move anticipated to be confirmed before the weekend to make it two deals in an important close season for the Magpies.
Although Newcastle already have a good goalkeeper in Martin Dubravka, Pope’s arrival reveals much of what Howe is trying to build at a club that are laying foundations on and off-the-pitch this summer.
There was a feeling that the department had grown stale, with Freddie Woodman and Karl Darlow both capable goalkeepers but having not provided sustained competition for Dubravka – whose own form was up and down last term.
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Newcastle’s move for Pope illustrates a desire to create renewed competition for places all over the pitch and keep established players on their toes. The message when the players return for pre-season next month is that there can be no complacency.
Howe was lukewarm when asked to commit to Dubravka last season and the feeling was always that Newcastle would look to add a goalkeeper. A move for Manchester United’s Dean Henderson was ruled out after initial enquiries, with Pope seen as a better alternative.
And his pricetag fits the club’s needs to work within financial fair play over the close season.
Newcastle are still aiming to land Hugo Ekitike of Reims and Sven Botman, the highly-rated Lille defender. Latest reports in Italy claim Milan have dropped their interest in the player due to the French club’s £37m valuation.
But other targets are being sourced and the club are monitoring the situation with Chelsea’s Armando Broja, who spent a successful season on loan at West Ham last year.
West Ham are preparing a £30m bid for the striker and Leeds also have interest. He is one of a number of forward targets being looked at by Newcastle, who also retain their interest in Dominic Calvert-Lewin, despite a prohibitive valuation being placed on him.
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