Gary Neville unimpressed with £4m Newcastle man’s positioning against Tottenham

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Gary Neville has been very critical of Newcastle United’s Martin Dubravka who was caught out for Tottenham’s third goal in a miserable Sunday afternoon for the Magpies.

Newcastle made it two consecutive 3-0 defeats after losing to Tottenham and the result will not have done stand-in goalkeeper Dubravka any good in terms of building confidence.

Gary Neville was on commentary for Sky Sports during the game and slammed the £4m shot-stopper for being out of position as Tottenham wrapped up the three points.

Dubravka was caught in ‘No Man’s Land’ against Tottenham

The pressure was already on Dubravka to perform after being called back into the first team due to a serious shoulder injury to Nick Pope which he picked up against Man United.

But it was not a performance that the Slovakian will look back on with fond memories after conceding four goals, two of which he was directly at fault for.

Richarlison netted Tottenham’s third in the second half after a looping ball over the top of the defence, but it was Dubravka’s positioning that allowed the Brazilian to have such an easy shot on goal.

The 34-year-old went to go and claim the cross but got caught in two minds and ultimately neither went up for it nor stayed back on his line, leaving Richarlison wide open.

On Sky Sports, Neville said: “The goalkeeper gets caught in No Man’s Land. He shuffles out and then goes back. If Dubravka had committed, he may have smothered it.”

Newcastle have a lot of thinking to do ahead of January

There were already rumours surrounding Newcastle who could be considering to buy a new goalkeeper because of Pope’s injury which looks set to keep him out for up to four months.

Both David de Gea and Hugo Lloris have been mentioned as possible targets that Newcastle could explore as the recruitment team look for some experienced hands.

So far, however, Eddie Howe has made it clear that he has full faith in Dubravka to fill in for Pope, but after the last two performances it may just be on his mind to explore the January market for a new shot-stopper.