Nick Pope to Newcastle United is finished, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Newcastle are heavily linked with a move to sign the relegated Burnley goalkeeper.
Despite the relegation, Pope remains an excellent stopper and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp labelled him ‘sensational‘ two years ago following a stunning performance at Anfield.
A departure from Turf Moor is certain, with Clarets boss Vincent Kompany conceding that the England international is likely to be leaving.
This week, The Telegraph reported that the Magpies were closing to agreeing a deal to sign the 30-year-old keeper.
And Romano has tweeted this morning that Newcastle will announce the addition soon, claiming it’s a done deal.
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Is Romano right?
Well, he often is and this is probably no exception.
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In fact, Newcastle sort of confirmed the transfer themselves by announcing that they had sold Freddie Woodman this week.
The St James’s Park outfit probably wouldn’t have sold Woodman unless a new goalkeeper was coming in and barring a massive shock at this point, that goalkeeper will be Pope.
Martin Dubravka wasn’t in dire need of replacing on Tyneside, but you could easily see Pope becoming Eddie Howe’s first-choice stopper from here on in.
Dubravkal, like Pope, is capable of excellent performances.
The difference will be consistency and if Pope is deemed more consistent than his Czech counterpart, which he probably is, then we’ll see him start between the sticks for Newcastle’s Premier League curtain raiser against Nottingham Forest on August 6.
In other news, ‘Having a top season’: Jordan Pickford gushes over £24m Arsenal player