Newcastle United goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos has barely featured this season.
Odysseas Vlachodimos signed for £20m in the summer but has played just 45 minutes of football for the Magpies.
Vlachodimos came off the bench in Newcastle’s 1-0 win against AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup in October. He has been named on the bench on several occasions but is yet to play in the Premier League under Eddie Howe.
After making his debut, Howe said Vlachodimos played ‘very well’ but has not featured since. There was talk of a January exit for the 30-year-old with clubs across Europe and Saudi Arabia reportedly interested.
Vlachodimos rejected a move to Al-Shabab in January – his preference was to stay in Europe. He was the second-choice goalkeeper behind Martin Dubravka whilst Nick Pope was out injured. However, the England international is back and Vlachodimos’ chances of playing more often for Newcastle are low.
With his future in doubt, Chris Waugh has provided a reason why he opted to stay at Newcastle until at least the end of the season.
Odysseas Vlachodimos’ Newcastle exit stance
In Newcastle’s FA Cup win against Birmingham City on Saturday, Howe made nine changes to the squad that beat Arsenal a few days prior.
The expectation among the fanbase was that Vlachodimos would feature in the game. However, John Ruddy was named on the bench instead.
When asked about Vlachodimos’ absence and future, Chris Waugh of the Athletic revealed that is was actually the shot-stopper’s decision to stay at the club rather than Howe or Paul Mitchell’s.
Waugh confirmed that Newcastle would have considered allowing him to leave and January, but the 30-year-old was keen to stay on Tyneside and fight for his place.
He is one of five goalkeepers registered in Newcastle’s Premier League squad, and there has been no sign that he will leave for the rest of the season.
Waugh also stated that Vlachodimos is unlikely to feature in any matchday squads now that both Dubravka and Pope are available.
Odysseas Vlachodimos’ Newcastle move branded ‘a mistake’
It’s evident that Vlachodimos’ move to Tyneside has not worked out so far. After moving from Nottingham Forest, he would have liked to have played much more often than he has.
There is no doubt that he is a goalkeeper with a lot of quality, his 225 appearances and 94 clean sheets for Benfica are a testament to his form elsewhere.
His move to the North East has been labelled as ‘a mistake’ by commentator Christos Sotirakopoulos who claimed Vlachodimos should have signed for another club in Europe.
Whether he stays at the club past this season remains to be seen – if he does, his chances of playing regular football could increase as Dubravka’s contract expires in the summer.
Elsewhere, Mark Gillespie and Ruddy could also leave the club with both of their deals also running out at the end of the season.
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