OPINION
Things have not been smooth sailing for Newcastle United this season and there have been patchy performances from nearly every one of their senior stars – but Martin Dubravka is a notable exception.
If you asked members of the Toon Army to pick out the last bad game the Slovakian international had while with the Magpies, they would be left scratching their heads – and that is because he has not really put a foot wrong since signing back in January.
With his loan spell a total success, Newcastle snapped him up on a four-year deal this summer and with the Mirror claiming he cost a mere £5.2million in total, it has been one of the bargains of the season considering the money spent on Kepa Arrizabalaga and Allison by Chelsea and Liverpool respectively.
Yes, the aforementioned duo have age on their side – Dubravka heading towards the peak of his career at 29 – but his stats show he is by far and away one of the best in the Premier League right now.
Sitting pretty in joint fourth in terms of clean sheets – behind Allison, Kepa and Ederson – despite having been forced to make the ninth most number of saves shows he is worthy of a big money transfer fee and as such the Magpies are sitting on a goldmine with him.
The serious worry for Rafael Benitez and the Toon Army is that this is not the first time Newcastle have had a player outperforming the rest of the team – think back to Andy Carroll, Yohan Cabaye or Demba Ba – and the matter of fact is that owner Mike Ashley has always cashed in.
He might say he has changed his ways but the Sports Direct supremo only cares about the finances of the club and if there is a chance for a big money injection courtesy of one player sale – with the argument there are three other shot stoppers already at St James’ Park to take his place – he will take it.