Newcastle United Hoping To Land This Burnley Keeper: Should Howe Snap Him Up?

In a recent report, Sky Sports claimed that Newcastle United are hoping to land Burnley keeper Nick Pope this summer. It has been mentioned that the Magpies are showing interest in recruiting the English custodian in this off-season.

Pope’s Difficult Campaign At Turf Moor Last Season

Pope had a tough campaign with the Clarets as he failed to save his team from being relegated from the Premier League. The 30-year-old conceded 51 goals and secured nine clean sheets in 39 matches for the Lancashire outfit last season in various competitions.

The Soham-born talent did well to average 1.3 clearances and 9.2 clearances per 90 minutes in Premier League football. He often went long with his ball distribution which explains why he only averaged 44.5% of his attempted passes in the English first division (stats via whoscored).

Should Newcastle United Head Coach Eddie Howe Snap Pope Up This Summer?

Pope is a solid handler of the ball and has got decent reflexes that allow him to make some important saves at the back. He usually goes long when passing the ball from the back and doesn’t mind coming out of his penalty box to clear the danger when required.

However, the English sensation let in 51 goals in the league last season which won’t do his confidence any good. Still, he deserves to play in the English top-flight, so Newcastle will do well to bring him on board as long as they can get him for a fair price.

Pope could serve as an upgrade over Martin Dubravka at St. James’ Park in the coming seasons. He has what it takes to become a safe pair of hands in goal in Eddie Howe‘s first XI. The Burnley star is good enough to help the Magpies challenge for a top-half finish in the Premier League next season. Hence, the Tyneside giants should try everything they can to snap Pope up during this summer transfer window as he will enhance the quality of their starting XI considerably in the short term.