Leeds United and Celtic were once linked to the goalkeeper.
Well, Leeds United and Celtic certainly had the right idea in wanting to sign Nick Pope.
According to Team Talk in 2016, United and the Hoops were interested in signing the 27-year-old goalkeeper, who was at Charlton Athletic at the time.
Pope ultimately punted for Burnley and he’s about to do something that indicates Leeds and Celtic were definitely on the right track back then.
That’s because Pope is reportedly on the brink of making his full England debut, three years after being linked to Elland Road and Parkhead among others.
According to The Daily Mail, the 6’3 keeper is set to start in the Three Lions’ Euro 2020 qualifier against Kosovo in Pristina today.
Gareth Southgate’s side have already qualified for the competition, and the England boss doesn’t want Pope – Jordan Pickford’s understudy – to have such little experience ahead of the competition.
This is the last international break until March, meaning that Pope’s chances of further caps will be limited – and even then, the Everton man is likely to start the next round of games.
At the time, Celtic, then under Brendan Rodgers, wanted a back-up for Craig Gordon and ultimately signed Dorus de Vries, who wasn’t a huge success in Glasgow, while Leeds swooped for Robert Green after selling Marco Silvestri back to Italy.
Things worked out okay for both sides, but it’s clear that the pair missed out on a classy goalkeeper and a solid game against Kosovo will remind them of that.
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