Paul Merson has hailed the ‘incredible’ signing of Nick Pope by Newcastle United.
The Magpies completed a deal for the 30-year-old last month, arriving for £10million from Burnley.
Pope has signed a four-year deal at St James’ Park, and will now battle with Martin Dubravka to be the club’s number one.
The goalkeeper was Eddie Howe’s second signing of the summer, following Matt Targett through the door. Newcastle have since made another addition, completing a deal for Sven Botman.
He will officially become a Newcastle player soon, after Lille delayed the move due to financial reasons. But Botman will be a Magpie alongside Pope.
Getting Pope in has been heralded as a smart piece of business by Toon fans, and Merson feels the same.
What Merson said on Newcastle signing Pope
The former Arsenal forward has named his top five signings of the summer so far in a column for Sportskeeda. His list includes Pope, who was ranked second behind Yves Bissouma.
“Nick Pope is a top goalkeeper, it’s ridiculous that Newcastle United got a player of his calibre for as little as £10million,” he wrote.
“If Jordan Pickford hadn’t done so well for Everton at the business end of last season, you could’ve argued that there is much between him and Pope – that’s how good a player the former Burnley man is.
“Eddie Howe is looking to build a team that can compete in the Premier League. It could take them five to six years, but they are doing a steady job and not splashing £100million on a player just for the sake of it – they are learning to walk before they can run.
“If they can get 10th place and probably win one of the domestic cups, that would be a fantastic season for Newcastle. Pope will save them points and is a top, top goalkeeper for their project.”
Merson is spot on…for once
It’s high praise, and highlights what an incredible piece of business Newcastle did last month.
The fee is what is most impressive. As Merson says, it’s quite a shock to see us get someone so good for such a modest fee. Given some of the price tags we’ve been quoted this summer, getting Pope for £10million is a real coup.
He’s one of the Premier League’s best stoppers, and will hopefully be an excellent addition to the squad.
It’s surprising to see Merson speak so highly of Newcastle. He usually gets it desperately wrong.
Not long after the change of ownership, he claimed Amanda Staveley and co didn’t have a clue what they were doing. It came during the club’s prolonged search for a new manager, when Howe was set to be appointed.
That was a baseless claim, and has proven to be incorrect.
He’s changed his tune now, and thinks the club are ‘learning to walk before they can run’. That was always going to be the case.
There is one wild claim from Merson in his comments. It would be fantastic to win a trophy, but suggesting we will is a real stretch. A lot of things need to go right for us to be in the mix for a trophy come 2023.
A top half finish will be the target for Newcastle. Anything on top of that is a bonus.
But we’re getting our transfer business right so far, and Pope should prove to be an excellent addition.
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