Nick Pope is poised to rejoin Newcastle United’s matchday roster for the upcoming Premier League fixture against Southampton on Saturday.
Pope has not participated in any matches for the Magpies since the 4-2 loss against Brentford on December 7, due to a knee injury. The 32-year-old individual was initially prescribed a recovery period of six weeks; however, this duration has now been extended into
a seventh week, as he was unable to participate in home matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers and AFC Bournemouth last week. On Friday, Newcastle’s head coach, Eddie Howe, offered an update indicating that Pope would be “close” to participating in the extensive journey to the South Coast, contingent upon his successful completion of training this week.
However, Pope is unlikely to secure a starting position and must contend with the challenge of reclaiming his place from Martin Dubravka. Since his arrival as a replacement for Pope, Dubravka has participated in ten matches, of which nine have concluded in victories, and he has achieved six clean sheets.
The Slovakian player was anticipated to join the Saudi Pro League club Al Shabab this month; however, his impressive performance prompted Newcastle to initiate discussions regarding his retention.
Subsequent to their unsuccessful pursuit of Dubravka, Al Shabab sought to engage Newcastle’s third-choice custodian, Odysseas Vlachodimos; however, this overture was declined by the Greek international.
The 30-year-old is not actively seeking to depart from Tyneside, despite having made only a single appearance subsequent to his transfer from Nottingham Forest, which was necessitated by the Professional Sports Regulation, during the summer. However, should he decide to depart, his preference would be to remain in Europe.
Leave a Reply