Newcastle United will try and sign Burnley’s Nick Pope if he loses his top spot at Turf Moor, according to The Sun.
The newspaper claim that the 25-year-old goalkeeper has attracted the attention of Magpies manager Rafa Benitez, after impressing in the 27 appearances he has made this season.
The Sun report that Pope has been regular featuring for the Clarets since Tom Heaton was ruled out of action with a dislocated shoulder in September.
However, Heaton is set to be medically cleared and will expect a quick return to the side as he targets going to the World Cup with England in the summer.
The Sun believe that Sean Dyche will not want to see either goalkeeper leave the club, but that he faces a struggle to keep both happy as they compete for game time.
Good move for Newcastle?
Yes.
Pope is a solid keeper and at 25-years-old, he could be the Magpies’ first-choice option for many seasons.
The Sun report that Newcastle United have an option to sign current first-choice Martin Dubravka for £3.5million permanently in the summer when his loan deal ends.
Even though Dubravka impressed against Manchester United in his Magpies debut, the Slovakian goalkeeper is four years older than Pope, which suggests the Burnley goalkeeper would be the better long-term solution to the Magpies’ problem between the sticks.
This is Futbol rating: 8/10
Likely to happen?
Depends on whether Pope loses his place in the team upon Heaton’s return.
The 25-year-old would be happy to stay at Burnley if he continues to feature regular, but he will definitely want to leave if he gets sent back to the bench.
Pope has proven this season that he is capable of being a first-choice goalkeeper at a Premier League club and the 25-year-old will no doubt move to another club to continue featuring on a regular basis.
This is Futbol rating: 7/10