Newcastle United will be without the services of Nick Pope for the next five months, giving an opportunity for Martin Dubravka to now prove his worth.
Dubravka had been a loyal and reliable player for Newcastle prior to the takeover and Nick Pope’s arrival last summer, but now he is second choice to the England international.
With Pope’s injury, Dubravka has the perfect opportunity to show why he deserves to be a starter and, as reported by The Athletic, the Newcastle goalkeeping staff are ‘big supporters’ of the Slovakian.
Newcastle’s coaches have been impressed with Dubravka
Newcastle and Eddie Howe will be devastated to lose Pope to injury, yet another name to add to the long list of unavailable players.
However, there’s a belief at the club that Newcastle have a very good understudy and therefore don’t necessarily have a need to go out and find a replacement for Pope in January, despite what some reports may say.
Dubravka was a popular figure amongst Newcastle fans back when every season was just a privilege to still be in the Premier League, but after seeing some of Pope’s performances, there was a concern that the drop-off in quality is bigger than first thought.
The Athletic have now claimed that the goalkeeping staff at Newcastle are huge fans of the £4m signing and fully supportive of him as he takes on the role of starting keeper once again.
“That is also why Dubravka will be given every opportunity to prove he can mitigate against the loss of Pope, with Newcastle at this stage not planning to sign another goalkeeper in January if possible, although they will repeatedly reassess that over the coming weeks.
“Adam Bartlett, Newcastle’s head of goalkeeper coaching, and Shwan Jalal, the first-team goalkeeper coach, are keen supporters of Dubravka.”
Dubravka has to be on top form
At the top of the Premier League and in crucial games in the Champions League there is very little room for error and Dubravka is going to have to be in the form of his life as Newcastle head into a key part of their season.
After Pope’s display against PSG, it’s a massive blow to be losing him for the final Group F game against AC Milan in which Newcastle have to win if they want to progress to the knockout rounds.
Newcastle also have a Carabao Cup quarter-final right around the corner and a first Tyne-Wear derby for almost eight years only a month away, so the 34-year-old will certainly have ample opportunity to prove his worth to the supporters.
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