'Excellent' Newcastle United man fights back after controversial £20m transfer agreement

Widely viewed as a deal that helped Newcastle and Nottingham Forest comply with Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), the Greek goalkeeper joined for a reported £20million in the summer, while academy Elliot Anderson headed in the other direction for £35m.

Vlachodimos wasn’t named in the matchday squad for the Magpies’ opening seven matches before appearing on the bench for the Carabao Cup tie against AFC Wimbledon. And just by chance, Martin Dubravka - stepping in for Pope - picked up a knee injury which saw Vlachodimos come on at half-time and help United record a 1-0 victory.

Speaking about handing a debut to Vlachodimos, Newcastle head coach said Eddie Howe told NewcastleWorld: “I'm pleased to give an opportunity to any player that deserves it. I have to say, since he's come to the football club, his attitude has been excellent, he's worked very hard.

“I thought he did well today coming on because that was a difficult moment for the team. As I spoke about, the set-play threat, the long throws, everyone's coming in our box and every time, you've got to come up with the right answer. I thought he claimed one really good ball. I don't think he had much to do in terms of shot-stopping, but he distributed the ball really well.”

With five goalkeepers on their books after failing to move Dubravka on in the summer, Newcastle were open to letting Vlachodimos leave but as per iNews, the 30-year-old is not thinking about an exit and “believes he can play a bigger part in the second half of the season as games stack up around the Christmas period”.

It’s easy to forget Vlachodimos has a fairly impressive CV having played Champions League football with Benfica as well as lifting two league titles in his five years at the Portuguese giants. He is also Greece’s number one and will start against England in Athens tonight. Avoiding defeat will see Vlachodimos & Co top their Nations League group.