Two Newcastle United transfer approaches played down ex-Man United man set to replace Nick Pope

Eddie Howe has played down speculation linking Newcastle United with a January move for David de Gea and Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale.

The Magpies will be without No.1 goalkeeper Nick Pope for the next four months after he dislocated his shoulder in Saturday's 1-0 win over Manchester United. Pope has been to see specialists this week and will undergo surgery in due course.

To fill the void left by the 31-year-old, who has kept 26 clean sheets in 62 games since joining last year, United have been credited with an interest in De Gea, a free agent after leaving Man United, and Ramsdale after falling behind David Raya in the pecking order at Arsenal.

But Howe has hit back at those reports, insisting no decisions have been made over January recruitment.

"I've seen a lot of the media headlines and press speculation regarding goalkeepers and other players," said Howe. "We've not made any enquiries or decisions around recruitment leading into January.

"I've said many times, if we were to recruit now we'd probably be recruiting in every area on the pitch because we have injuries throughout the squad. Hopefully that picture looks different come January.

"This is a chance for the goalkeepers we have at the football club to consolidate their positions and that goes for every other position."

Newcastle will turn to Martin Dubravka in Pope's absence with Loris Karius as back-up and Mark Gillespie as third choice. If the former impresses, then you'd suspect signing a goalkeeper is bottom of the priority list.

Dubravka was the Magpies' No.1 for three and half seasons before Pope arrived from Burnley in 2022. The Slovakian joined Manchester United on loan in the same summer but returnd to Tyneside five months later after making just two appearances.

Since then, the 34-year-old has made five appearances, two of which have come against the Red Devils. He played in the 3-0 Carabao Cup win at Old Trafford and replaced Pope for the remaining 10 minutes on Saturday.

“We really believe in Martin," said Howe. "I’ve always had that high opinion of him. Yes, we brought in Nick [Pope] and wanted to build competition for places and a squad that we felt could really carry us to great success but Martin is a high-class goalkeeper. He’s a brilliant shot-stopper and very good with his feet and distribution so no hesitation about bringing Martin into the team and I hope he does really well.

“The whole goalkeeping department has been very strong. They’ve all supported Nick which has been great to see because you want that support for the person that is playing. They’ve all performed to a very high level, individually, in training themselves to keep pushing each other to give better performances.

"I think Martin is experienced enough to know football can change so quickly. One minute he’s sat with us watching a game and next he’s thrust into action.

"Against Manchester United, he used his experience and handled that last part of the game really well. I’ve got no doubts about his as a goalkeeper and character, and hopefully, it’ll go really well. "

Howe's side take in Everton at Goodison Park in the Premier League this evening.