Newcastle United player ruled out of Man United final wanted in Aston Villa transfer

Newcastle United star Martin Dubravka is reportedly wanted by two Premier League clubs as Magpies manager Eddie Howe faces a number of big decisions over his goalkeeping options this summer.

With Nick Pope firmly established as Howe’s number one choice, the likes of Dubravka and Darlow have been forced to watch on from the sidelines from the majority of the season as the England stopper helped United challenge for a return to European football for the first time in over a decade.

Dubravka’s frustration over Pope’s arrival led to a loan move to Manchester United but he was recalled in January after struggling to find game-time at Old Trafford. Even more frustratingly for the Slovakia international, one of his few appearances for the Red Devils came in the early rounds of their run to the Carabao Cup Final, which has ruled him out of replacing Pope at Wembley after the Magpies number one received a red card in last weekend’s home defeat against Liverpool.

Darlow was named as a substitute in both legs of Newcastle’s Carabao Cup semi-final win over Southampton but is now spending the remainder of the season on loan at Championship club Hull City, meaning Loris Karius will become the first United keeper since Steve Harper in 1999 to feature in a major cup final.

Speaking about the situation after replacing Pope during the first-half of the defeat against Jurgen Klopp’s side, Dubravka said: “This could be a movie. It is a very strange situation. I can’t play for obvious reasons. Nick got the red card. So now it’s up to us to prepare the others mentally because that is the most difficult thing, to be mentally ready for it.”

No matter what happens at Wembley on Sunday afternoon, there are question marks over both Darlow and Dubravka’s long-term futures at St James Park and backup options Karius and Mark Gillespie are out of contract at the end of the campaign, which means Howe has several big calls to make as he looks to provide competition for Pope next season.

Dubravka has been repeatedly linked with a move to Leicester City in recent months but Football Insider have now suggested Aston Villa and Brentford are ‘laying the groundwork’ for summer moves and see Dubravka as a potential replacement for their first-choice goalkeepers.

Villa star Emiliano Martinez has been linked with a move to Serie A after helping Argentina to their World Cup Finals win last year and Bees stopper David Raya will head into the final 12 months of his current deal with Thomas Frank’s side during the summer.