Newcastle United have reportedly reignited their pursuit of Napoli goalkeeper Pepe Reina as the Spaniard refused a two-year contract extension with Italian side amidst latest speculations of a rift between him and the club President.
Rafael Benitez has as many as five goalkeepers at his disposal at the moment and it can be safely said that except for Tim Krul, hardly anyone else has the Premier League experience which would be so crucial for the Magpies next season. A safe pair of hands has been the saving grace for many newly promoted clubs in the top-flight English football of late, most notably Tom Heaton of Burnley.
Even teams like Middlesbrough in Victor Valdes and Sunderland in Jordan Pickford have time and again needed some stupendous reflexes to keep the sides in the game against top opponents. And given his immense experience in the Premier League with Liverpool, Benitez knows that he would need much more than the inexperienced gloves of his last season regular Karl Darlow.
Although the 26-year-old shot-stopper was decent conceding only 32 goals in 34 games, Newcastle were surely the best team in the Championship with a defence more assured than most teams. It will not be the case this time and we won’t be surprised if Darlow sees himself starting for EFL Cup and FA Cup fixtures.
Benitez has never hidden his admiration for his former defence general and with another opportunity on his lap, he will surely try to bring him back to England. The 34-year-old has been quite decent for Napoli last season conceding 38 goals in 37 games and his experience at the top level could be a season-defining one for the Magpies.
An academy product of the Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy, Reina had an instant break into the first team before the Catalans offloaded him to Villarreal in 2002. Liverpool had brought him in 2005 and he had some fabulous memories in Anfield before his dip in form saw the Reds selling him to Serie A side Napoli. His hyped move with Bundesliga Champions Bayern Munich turned out to be uneventful and Napoli bought him back once again in 2015.
As per reports, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis had cracked a joke about the goalkeeper in the season end dinner for the team. Reina’s wife apparently didn’t take it lightly and walked out of the room. Reina’s rapport with his former Liverpool and Napoli boss is quite amicable and he has a brilliant record playing under him.
He has played 303 times under the Spanish manager so far, conceding only 246 goals and perfecting 139 shutouts. Yet another performance like that and Newcastle United could expect a good finish in their first season back to the Premier League after gaining promotion.
