Newcastle United’s goalkeeping department looks set for a major shake-up this summer, with Odysseas Vlachodimos’ imminent arrival the first of many ins and outs.
After the imminent sales for Yankuba Minteh (to Brighton for £33m) and Elliot Anderson ( to Nottingham Forest for £35m) to ensure we’ve complied with the Premier League’s PSR rules, it was announced this morning that Vlachodimos is set to undergo a medical on Tyneside later today.
It’s not yet known how much we’ll pay for the 30-year-old, who sealed a £7.7m switch from Benfica to the City Ground last September, but the Greek international will arrive as Loris Karius’ replacement now the German’s contract has officially expired today. A deal for James Trafford is also being worked on in the background as a likely replacement for Martin Dubravka – who will leave after Euro 2024 – and a long-term understudy to Nick Pope, with talks continuing despite Burnley’s £20m demands.
Some have suggested that Vlachodimos won’t be settling for a third-choice role given he was playing in a Champions League quarter-final for Benfica just last April. However, he’s largely been behind former Mag Matz Sels and USA stopper Matt Turner at Nottingham, where he made just five Premier League appearances all season.
He brings top-level experience, is a similar age to Karius (31), has previously taken up a back-up role in England and is good with his feet, but his career has stalled slightly over the past 12 months and he failed to make Forest’s squad in their final 14 games of 2023/24. That is the makings of Karius’ replacement, not someone we’ve opted to sign as Pope’s immediate deputy following strong links to Trafford, Mamardashvili and Ramsdale in recent months.
Eddie Howe opted for four goalkeepers last season in Pope, Dubravka, Karius and Gillespie and he’s likely to do the same for 2024/25, with a young shot-stopper expected to arrive alongside Vlachodimos over the coming weeks.
Our opening bid of £16m was rejected by Burnley for Trafford, with the Clarets pushing for at least £20m given the 20% sell-on clause inserted into his move from Man City last summer. The fact talks have continued is a telling sign and an agreement is likely to be reached, unless Newcastle refuse to compromise on price an move back to Mamardashvili following his stunning displays at the Euros.
On the subject of Dubravka, the 35-year-old faces England tonight for a place in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 and knows his time on Tyneside is up. He wants first-team football, is out of contract next summer and has received interest from Celtic, Saudi clubs and a number of teams in Europe.
Elsewhere, with PSR compliance secured and a new three-year rolling period set to commence, it promises to be an exciting few months on the transfer front, with a young right-sided centre-back wanted – AC Milan’s Malick Thiaw is leading target – along with a quality right winger another striker, with Callum Wilson likely to depart next month following enquiries from West Ham and a host of Saudi clubs.
A £28m move for Lewis Hall will also be announced soon, with the versatile left-back expected to sign a long-term deal after the terms of his loan-to-buy switch from Chelsea were activated based on our league position last season.
