Aaron Ramsdale has already explained what his Newcastle United role will be after saying ‘yes’ to Eddie Howe

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Newcastle United are making their move to sign Aaron Ramsdale from Southampton, as Eddie Howe attempts to address his goalkeeping department.

The Newcastle United manager wants more competition for Nick Pope, which is why James Trafford was being targeted.

However, James Trafford is joining Manchester City, which has resulted in the Magpies looking elsewhere.

News broke on Monday that Newcastle are trying to sign Aaron Ramsdale, with a loan deal being discussed with Southampton.

Aaron Ramsdale will not settle for being number two at Newcastle United

If Ramsdale does arrive at St James’ Park, the assumption will be that he will start as understudy to Pope.

However, based on the reason he left Arsenal permanently last summer, the 27-year-old certainly will not resign himself to life on the Newcastle United bench.

During an interview with BBC’s Football Focus in October 2024 after signing for Southampton, Ramsdale explained that he had no intention of spending his days as a substitute at the Emirates behind David Raya.

“If I was sitting on the bench, it [winning a trophy] wouldn’t have meant that much to me,” he said.

“I just wanted to play football. As a kid I wanted to play football to play, not to just sit on a bench.

“Getting out and playing was my aim so I’m lucky I found myself here at Southampton.”

Assuming that Newcastle do get this deal done, they will suddenly have two goalkeepers competing for one position. Ramsdale will provide Pope with the challenge he needs, while Howe will have the option to rotate during what is set to be an extremely busy season.

Aaron Ramsdale has said ‘yes’ to joining Newcastle United

If Ramsdale does join the Newcastle United squad, it will be because he has been given assurances that he can be Eddie Howe’s number one.

Those assurances must have already come his way, as Fabrizio Romano has stated on X that the goalkeeper has already said ‘yes’ to a move to the North East.

That is a huge step in the right direction, at a time when Newcastle need to strengthen their goalkeeping department. While Ramsdale might not be the needle-mover that Toon fans were expecting, he does provide an improvement on Howe’s current options.

Newcastle will no doubt want to wrap up a deal quickly, as their main focus right now needs to be the striker situation. That is heavily dependent on Alexander Isak’s future.