As far as pure shot-stopping goes, you won’t find many better goalkeepers in the Premier League than Newcastle United’s Nick Pope.
But while the England international’s distribution has never been as lacking as some would have you believe (Burnley’s direct approach meant Pope was rarely asked to start attacks from his own box under Sean Dyche), Cambridgeshire’s answer to Ederson he most certainly is not.
Pope’s pass completion rate of 53 per cent at Newcastle is much-improved from his time at Turf Moor (WhoScored). But it’s still much lower than the likes of Alisson Becker, Ederson, Illan Meslier and Gavin Bazunu. Per FBREF, Pope’s pass completion rate is bettered by 17 other goalkeepers to have played Premier League football in 2022/23.
Newcastle’s reported interest in Diogo Costa, then, maybe highlights a desire to do things a little differently (JN).
Could Eddie Howe replace Nick Pope with Porto’s Diogo Costa at Newcastle United?
Newcastle, since that Saudi Arabian takeover, have taken a calm and considered approach to improving their squad. Rather than allow themselves to be bewitched by big-names, the Magpies have prioritised intelligent, relatively low-profile signings, alongside some more expensive acquisitions. It’s been a story of sure things, and carefully calculated risks.
Costa, who has a £50 million release clause in his Porto contract, certainly belongs in the latter category; expensive and totally unproven on English soil, a la Bruno Guimaraes, but brimming with elite-level potential. Like the former Lyon talisman, Costa is the sort of signing who, presuming he adapts to life on Tyneside, can help transform Newcastle’s style of play, allowing Eddie Howe to go toe-to-toe with the very best footballing sides in the land and harbour genuine hopes of outplaying them.
Costa is, if not the best, then certainly one of the best ball-playing goalkeepers in European football.
A totally different dimension
The Swiss-born Portugal international boats a 73 per cent pass completion rate in domestic football. In the Champions League, his record is 68 per cent. And while that is still well short of the tournament’s very best numbers, Costa is not the sort of keeper content to merely roll the ball 10 yards forward to the nearest centre-half.
He takes risks with his passing too; see that glorious 80 yard drive which set up Evanilson’s opener during Porto’s 3-0 thumping of Bayer Leverkusen in October. Costa, in that game, became the first goalkeeper to produce an assist and save a penalty in the same Champions League game. He is also the first to keep out three spot-kicks in a single campaign; a feat he achieved after just five group-stage games.
“The best in the world,” says Porto legend-turned-vice-president Vitor Baia (A Bola).
Newcastle’s own Ederson?
And while the traditionalists among you may still have some reservations about the importance of a goalkeeper who can pass the ball as well as save it, there is a reason why, say, Pep Guardiola viewed the likes of Ederson, Claudio Bravo and Manuel Neuer as key cogs in his tactical blueprint.
“The way Pep looks at it, we’re not just a team with 10 players and a goalkeeper,” Neuer told Sky in 2014. “We are really 11 players and that fits in with my game. I’m glad we’ve got that philosophy and achieve 70-plus per cent possession in games.”
Now, Pope is one of the last players you would expect Newcastle to replace. Since arriving from Burnley, he has been a pillar of consistency between the sticks.
But Howe will know, like Guardiola early on in his Etihad reign (dumping Joe Hart and bringing in Ederson), that big and brutal decisions must be made if Newcastle are to have the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea glancing nervously over their shoulders on a regular basis.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
