Newcastle United could be on the lookout for an alternative to Nick Pope after the shot-stopper suffered a huge injury vs Man United, with West Ham’s Lukasz Fabianski an experienced option.
Nick Pope is now going to be out of the Newcastle team until April at the earliest with a serious shoulder injury that will require surgery.
The Athletic are now reporting that Newcastle are exploring their options and could consider making a move for West Ham’s Lukasz Fabianski who is currently second choice to Alphonse Areola.
Newcastle have not yet made a final decision after Pope’s injury
With Pope only getting his scan on Monday, Newcastle have not had a lot of time to make a final decision on whether or not to look for a replacement for the £10m signing or not.
In terms of what they could do in January, there’s the option of bringing in an ‘experienced’ name like Fabianski to temporarily take over from Pope, or Newcastle could bring forward funds to go out and find a long-term successor to the 31-year-old.
As The Athletic reports, some well known Premier League names have been mentioned as possible targets.
“Instead, loans could be explored, with Tottenham Hotspur’s Hugo Lloris heavily linked during the summer, even if senior figures at Newcastle denied they made an approach. West Ham United’s Lukasz Fabianski is an experienced alternative.”
There’s still over three weeks to go until the window opens so plenty of time to assess the situation and figure out what would be the best fit for Eddie Howe’s squad.
Fabianski would be a reliable pair of hands to take over from Pope after making 352 appearances in the Premier League, but for now Newcastle will have to focus on what they’ve got available to get them through the Christmas period.
Martin Dubravka can still make his claim to be Pope’s replacement
One position you could say that Newcastle are well stocked in is between the sticks. Both Martin Dubravka and Loris Karius have a wealth of experience in top-flight football and at least give Eddie Howe some options after Pope’s injury.
Dubravka is the immediate choice to be back up to Pope after making 135 appearances for the Magpies in over five years at the club.
Howe still has faith in the 34-year-old to do a job for Newcastle as Pope’s replacement, but if the performances over the next month are sub-par then links to alternative options like Fabianski could become stronger and stronger.
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