According to Ben Jacobs, Newcastle are keen to keep hold of goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, who has given a green light to a move to Al-Shabab this month.
Dubravka joined the Magpies on an initial six-month loan from Sparta Prague in January, 2018, and the move was made permanent the following summer. He was loaned out to Manchester United for the first half of the 2022/23 season. In all competitions, he’s made a total of 171 appearances for Newcastle so far, conceding 228 goals and keeping a clean sheet on 52 occasions. The contract he signed at St. James’ Park in October, 2019, expires at the end of this season. At the age of 35, with 50 caps as a Slovakia international to his name, it seems he’s ready to move on.
However, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe rates Dubravka highly and wants him to stay put, but the club are now in a difficult position where they have to choose between opening the door for his exit and the risk of losing his services for free in the summer.
As hinted at here, Newcastle would like Dubravka to stay beyond January. The deal with Al-Shabab is verbally agreed, and Dubravka appeared to say goodbye to fans after the win over Arsenal. #NUFC hoping they can change Dubravka’s mind, even though player has said yes to Shabab.🧤 https://t.co/P3qp9eQC2h
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) January 9, 2025
