Martin Dubravka lost his number one spot after the arrival of Nick Pope at Newcastle United but Eddie Howe hopes that he will stay at the club next season.
As Newcastle head for Champions League football, Eddie Howe has said he needs two starting XIs next season to ensure they can remain competitive on all fronts. Therefore, it makes sense that Howe would want a second goalkeeper he can rely on.
Fortunately for Howe, he already has that in Martin Dubravka, but the Slovakian may still be looking elsewhere after losing his spot as Newcastle’s number one.
Howe hopes he can convince Dubravka to stay
“I very much hope his (Dubravka) future is here,” said Howe (via The Chronicle). “I rate Martin very highly, I always have done. It was just that last summer we had the opportunity to recruit Nick, and Nick has done incredibly well so it’s been difficult for Martin to get the game time that he wants.
“We need as good a squad as we can have going into a season where we’re going to have loads of games, so if Martin were to stay, I think he’d get a lot of football.”
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It has been an interesting year or so for Dubravka. After Pope’s arrival his representatives tried in vain to find him a permanent move away from the club, settling instead for a loan to Manchester United.
It was a move that had Newcastle fans scratching their heads as he’d swapped being second choice for being third choice seemingly just to make a point.
Newcastle could find themselves desperate for a new ‘keeper this summer
Unfortunately, some sections of the fanbase took this as an opportunity to hurl online abuse towards Dubravka which he spoke about after his return to the North East. With that kind of behaviour from our fans, it would be a miracle if he wants to stay here next season.
Dubravka isn’t far behind Pope in terms of quality, and it’s likely he’ll be between the sticks tomorrow at Chelsea, but it could be his last game for the club if Eddie Howe can’t convince him to stay.
With Loris Karius set to leave too, Newcastle could find themselves desperate for a new stopper in the summer.