Chris Waugh says a goalkeeper will ‘almost certainly’ be leaving Newcastle

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Another goalkeeper is almost certain to be leaving Newcastle United this summer.

That’s according to the Athletic’s Chris Waugh, who spoke about the club’s keeper situation on the latest episode of Pod On The Tyne.

The Magpies have already moved one senior stopper on this summer. Freddie Woodman joined Preston North End, having failed to make the grade at St James’ Park. That was disappointing given how highly rated he once was.

Youngster Dan Langley has also departed, joining Gateshead on loan where he will hope to gain valuable experience of senior football.

Eddie Howe now has four senior goalkeepers to pick from, having brought in Nick Pope from Burnley. He will surely be the club’s number one, despite Martin Dubravka not really putting a foot wrong.

But with four options to choose from, Howe will surely have to move one of them on.

Waugh on a goalkeeper leaving Newcastle

Waugh appeared on the latest episode of Pod On The Tyne, and spoke about more potential outgoings from St James’ Park.

“They will almost certainly have to move a goalkeeper on because of the number of players they have already,” he said.

“I can’t see them naming four senior goalkeepers in the squad.

“Martin Dubravka missed last night’s game (the Benfica defeat) with a sprained wrist. There’s question marks over him, Karl Darlow and Mark Gillespie as to who will be the one who is moved on because Nick Pope, having signed this summer, is the only one you can be certain is going to be in that 25-man squad.”

Deciding who should leave isn’t easy

It won’t be easy deciding which goalkeeper should be moved on out of Dubravka, Darlow and Gillespie.

The latter is the least likely to play, but ironically he’s probably the most likely to stay. Gillespie has always been third choice at St James’ Park, and didn’t get a chance last year when Steve Bruce encountered injury problems in between the sticks.

Gillespie feels like an ideal third choice stopper, so he will likely remain a part of Howe’s squad.

Then it’s a toss up between Dubravka and Darlow. Both have impressed for Newcastle, while the former has been number one ever since he arrived on Tyneside. He’s proven he can be a top quality Premier League goalkeeper, and might not be keen to play second fiddle to Pope.

As for Darlow, while he has impressed at times, he’s spent most of his Toon career as backup. He was linked with a move to Middlesbrough earlier in the summer, but that appears to have collapsed.

In an ideal world, we keep Dubravka as second choice because of how good he is. However, that might not be possible depending on the Slovakian’s desire to play every week.

It’s a difficult decision for Howe, but one that needs to be made soon.