OPINION
Martin Dubravka has been brilliant for Newcastle United this season, up until the past few weeks.
After a series of awe-inspiring performances that have saved his side countless points, the Slovakian has hit a bit of a rough patch recently, making two costly errors that led to his side dropping points against both Tottenham and Wolves.
Rafa Benitez has done the right thing by keeping the faith in his stopper, who is too talented to not work his way through this tricky spell, but you can’t help feeling that if Dubravka made another high profile mistake the boss could be forced to look at alternative options for a little while.
Freddie Woodman is an exciting talent who has made a decent claim for the number two spot at St. James’ Park, but the return of Karl Darlow, who played 45 minutes in Saturday’s 1-1 friendly draw with CSKA Moscow, could be the added little bit of competition that forces Dubravka to get himself back on track.
While Woodman is a capable deputy with a huge future ahead of him, the feeling is that Benitez would be wary of dropping his number one for a player lacking in so much experience for such a crucial part of the Magpies’s season.
Darlow, on the other hand, has plenty of top flight football under his belt, and would represent a much more realistic alternative option to the Slovakian.
There’s no saying the Rafa will wield the axe, but now that Darlow is back in contention, you would hope that Dubravka uses the pressure to spur him back into form.