Karl Darlow has been one of the most efficient players in the Newcastle United side in the last season and has played a pretty important role in their promotion clinching season, which saw them make it back into the top tier after spending one season in the Championship. However, he might be worried about his place, as the Magpies boss Rafa Benitez is looking to bring in a number of new players and let go of a few in the summer from his present squad.
The Spanish manager of the newly promoted Premier League side has a number of shot-stoppers, actually four of them including Darlow in their lineup, the others being Tim Krul, Rob Elliot and Freddie Woodman. Woodman has shown impressive skills in ball handling and helping his team on the national stage as well, while playing for the England under-20 side, making it quite difficult for Darlow to make it into the first team in the next season.
Reportedly, a number of clubs from the Championship as well as the Premier League are looking to take advantage of the situation and bring Darlow into their squad for the next season. Championship club Reading are no stranger to that and reportedly have already launched a bid of £5 million to bag the 26-year-old shot-stopper from Newcastle United for the next season.
Reading’s veteran goalkeeper, Ali Al Habsi, has been eyeing a move to the Middle East, with Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal looking to bring in the 35-year-old player as his two-year stint with Reading comes to an end. This has prompted the Royals to take evasive action on an immediate basis and bring in Darlow to make him stand beneath the crossbar in the next season.
Reading will be looking to build on the positives of last year when they went on to make it to the Championship Playoff final against Huddersfield Town. Both teams were unable to break the deadlock in the stipulated time and even in the extra time, with the game going into penalties, where the Terriers got the better of the Royals and made it into the Premier League, leaving grave disappointment for the latter.
However, Reading are looking to make a strong comeback in the next season and clinch a place in the Premier League. The Royals are eyeing Karl Darlow along with a number of other players for this summer so that they can one-up their performance of the last season in the next term.
