Newcastle United are planning a long overdue overhaul of their goalkeeping department in 2026.
And Odysseas Vlachodimos, currently excelling on loan at Sevilla, wants the chance to be part of it.
Speaking exclusively to The i Paper from Spain, the Greece goalkeeper admits to frustration and puzzlement at the lack of opportunities at St James’ Park in the first year of the long-term contract he signed in 2024.
After seeking assurances on the possibility of game time during his own due diligence on the move 16 months ago, he was then told on the eve of that season that Martin Dubravka would not be leaving.
That started a challenging season for Vlachodimos in which he played only once and never really got a chance to show what he can do before departing for La Liga in the summer.
“This loan has been good and Sevilla has been a brilliant move for me,” he says.
“Just like Benfica [his previous club] it’s a powerhouse in Europe so the decision for me was easy when it was put to me in the summer. I thought ‘Let’s go and be important again on the pitch’. Being important for a club and being back out on the pitch again was key for me.”
So far, it has been a success. Sevilla are rebuilding on a budget and Newcastle are paying a sizeable chunk of his salary but he is playing well. He has the fifth best xG conceded gap of any goalkeeper in a big five league, a stat that suggests he is keeping out plenty of chances that would be expected to go in.
‘I thought I would play more games’
“At Sevilla now I get the trust and I get the game time but really, I’m just the same goalkeeper,” he says.
Pressed on what happened at Newcastle, he is diplomatic. Still under contract, he is in regular touch with the loans department and speaks to the goalkeeping department almost weekly. He considers Nick Pope, John Ruddy and Mark Gillespie “friends” as well as colleagues. But it’s tough to hide the disappointment at how it unfolded last year.
“Of course there was frustration that I didn’t play more,” he admits.
“If you look back in my career I have played plenty of games, Champions League games, international games with Greece, I always want to play and you’re a bit disappointed if you don’t play and don’t get the chance.
“I thought I would play more games, to be fair. I came with a different outlook and ambition but things didn’t go as I thought it would. It was a new experience to me because I’ve always played but I learned something from it. I stayed fit, kept training and I think it made me the goalkeeper I am now.
“Why I didn’t catch the game time that was spoken to me about before I moved? We need to ask other people about that.”
He’s at pains to point out there’s no problem with the management at Newcastle. And he also says he has “no idea” about the mechanics of the deal with Nottingham Forest, which came as the Magpies struggled to dip under the limit of the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).
“When I heard about Newcastle’s interest I was on my holidays and the only thing I spoke to them about was the sporting side, nothing financial,” he says.
“I asked ‘What’s the plan for the club, what’s the plan for the goalkeepers?’ How do they see me, what are my strengths?
“I wanted to know how well they knew me, asked a little bit deeper goalkeeper-wise. And I was happy with the answers.”
The battle for No 1
Goalkeeper is one of Newcastle’s priority positions to resolve in the summer. Pope is the current first choice but a number of high-profile errors saw calls for him to be removed before an injury made the decision for Howe.
The Magpies paid Southampton a £5m loan fee to sign Aaron Ramsdale, who is on close to £100,000-a-week, but it’s unclear whether that will be turned into a permanent move.
Newcastle still admire James Trafford, who opted to move to Manchester City in the summer, but there’s a feeling within the recruitment team that “the ship has sailed” on the England under-21 international. European options are being scouted instead.
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For Vlachodimos, hope remains that he can be part of it. “I don’t know what the future holds but of course I’d come back,” he says.
“Me and my family, since day one at Newcastle, have felt very good. I think we fit well with the club, I like the people at the club and the Geordies, whether that’s at the supermarket or out and around. Newcastle is a fantastic club.
“But I also want to play for them and to be important on the pitch.”
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