Any sign of Newcastle United having a goalkeeping problem is surely gone now.
It was a breeze on Boxing Day as Newcastle United beat Aston Villa at St James’ Park.
An early goal from Anthony Gordon set the tone for the game before a Jhon Duran red card forced Villa to take a backstep.
It should’ve been more for Eddie Howe’s side but ultimately the Toon boss will be happy to run out 3-0 winners and avenge their Boxing Day loss to Nottingham Forest the year prior, with second-half goals from Alexander Isak and Joelinton sealing the deal.
Martin Dubravka was in great form again keeping his third consecutive league clean sheet. The 35-year-old has only conceded one goal so far this season which was a late consolation in Newcastle’s Carabao Cup win against Brentford.
Dubravka had a great Euro 2024 campaign and it’s clear he has taken that in his stride with his performances reflective of his form in the summer tournament where they were knocked out to eventual finalists England.
But the win against Villa put the Slovakian amongst the best the club has ever seen.
Martin Dubravka becomes Newcastle’s second top clean sheet taker
It was yet another clean sheet for Dubravka who has been in fine form since returning to Newcastle’s starting XI. He has his defenders to thank for only making him face four shots but has comfortably saved all of them.
Dubravka got the ball rolling on his Newcastle career with a 1-0 win against Manchester United on his debut. Now, he can officially say that he has passed Tim Krul to move into second place in keeping clean sheets.
His shutout against Villa puts him on 42, but he still remains some way off leader Shay Given who finished his time at Newcastle on 91, albeit with 199 more games played.
With usual starting goalkeeper Nick Pope injured, Dubravka has the opportunity to extend his record even further and with Newcastle’s next opponent an out-of-form Manchester United who haven’t scored in their previous two games he’ll have all the confidence to shutout his former club and help the Magpies to a first Premier League win at Old Trafford since 2013.
Dubravka’s Newcastle future still in doubt
There is still the potential that Dubravka could leave Newcastle in January with a club in the Saudi Pro League reportedly interested.
Reports suggested that Dubravka had agreed a deal in principle to join Al-Shabab but Howe has played down his desires to see his current starting keeper leave saying the 35-year-old’s exit “wouldn’t make sense”
Dubravka nearly joined Celtic in the summer but the move broke down with the Scottish champions opting to sign Kasper Schmeichel instead.
Newcastle want a goalkeeper in January with Burnley ace James Trafford among the names linked with a move. Still, they aren’t short of competition with reports suggesting that Tottenham Hotspur want to sign Trafford too.
His recent performances are sure to spark the interest of other sides who may see the Slovakian as a good backup option.
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