30-year-old Newcastle player interested in summer transfer amid links to Italy

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One Newcastle United player looks destined for a summer exit as he has now declared his interest in a move to Italy.

There have been rumours recently linking goalkeeper Loris Karius with a move across Europe to be closer with his young family as his wife works over in Italy as a reporter for Sky Sports.

In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Karius confirmed that he follows Serie A with a keen interest and acknowledged that a move there would be a ‘great solution’ for him and his family.

Newcastle set to lose one player this summer

Karius hasn’t exactly been a key player making just two appearances during his time at the club, once very recently in a 4-1 defeat at Arsenal in the Premier League and the other in the Carabao Cup final defeat last season.

The German is one of if not the most experienced third choice goalkeepers in the league and it would still be a blow to lose someone with his quality on the bench knowing they will now have to replace him.

It’s clear that he wants out and to find somewhere he can play regularly after he switched agents, now working with former Italy international Claudio Marchisio, to help him secure a move to the league.

With his contract at Newcastle expiring in the summer there is very little they can do in terms of persuading him to stay given that he won’t be a starter ahead of Nick Pope, so we may have seen the last of Karius for the Magpies.

In the interview, Karius said: “Of course, it would be a great solution if there were good options for me, regardless of proximity to my family.

“I have always followed Serie A and it intrigues me a lot, but it is too early to talk about the future. Claudio (Marchisio) and I are friends, I know him well and I think he is the right person.

“I want to go back to being number one like I always have been except for the last two years. When I play I do well and I know I have enough quality to perform at the highest levels again.

“When I arrived, they already had a starting goalkeeper, and it wasn’t easy for me. I definitely aim to play more and that’s why I train hard every day.

“Being a goalkeeper is very difficult, the challenge is to stay positive knowing that you are not playing and to be ready.

“You’re alone in goal, when you score goals, all eyes are on you but when you do something positive no one cares. It’s part of the game, you have to be mentally strong, more than others.”

Newcastle may have a bit of a goalkeeping crisis

After a season which has exposed Newcastle’s lack of quality in depth in the first team, the very last thing they will want to be doing is searching and having to pay for backup goalkeepers this summer.

But that may be exactly what they have to do with the contracts of Karius and Mark Gillespie set to expire while it’s also very likely that Martin Dubravka will leave in the search of first-team football.

It will be interesting to see if Newcastle look for more experienced options who are possibly available on a free in the summer, or whether they choose to promote from within to save them some money in wages and transfer fees.

After all, the recent reports suggest that they will need all the money they can possibly get if they are to make wholesale changes to the squad in the coming months.