· December 17 2024, 14:00
A report from Saudi Arabia has now claimed that Newcastle United may actually be about to sell a player - we've forgotten how to report this kind of news.
Newcastle under Eddie Howe have become hoarders. There has been a massive reluctance to sell players for whatever reason, but the reality is starting to hit that we can't add to the squad without letting players go first and it seems that one player has a foot out the door already.
Martin Dubravka looks to be on his way to Saudi Arabia with Al-Shabab, but before we get too excited, this is the exact same story we heard last year but with Miguel Almiron, so we're not counting our chickens yet.
Dubravka was tipped to leave Newcastle in the summer when it looked like a move to Celtic was nailed on, but ultimately they opted for Kasper Schmeichel.
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Martin Dubravka could be set for a move to Al-Shabab
Dubravka has found himself back in the starting lineup for Newcastle after Nick Pope picked up an injury, which shows that despite spending £20 million on Odysseas Vlachodimos and bringing in John Ruddy in the summer, Dubz is still seen as the number two.
However, Dubravka, still Slovakia's number-one goalkeeper, will feel he's deserving of more than a place on the bench and is likely to accept a move away if first-team football is guaranteed.
Meanwhile, Newcastle are still said to be keen on bringing in James Trafford from Burnley and that would be ridiculous if we still had five goalkeepers in the squad.
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Eddie Howe praised Martin Dubravka in his press conference this morning
Again, we're not getting too carried away here as the source for this one isn't exactly rock solid, and we've been here before with Al-Shabab, but reports did suggest that it was Almiron who scuppered that deal, not the Saudi side.
The story comes on the same day that Eddie Howe praised Dubravka in his pre-match press conference saying:
"Martin played really well, I think he was very calm in possession and gave us a really good platform to build from at the back, a vastly experienced head, I think he can be very pleased with his return to the team."
Newcastle have plenty of options between the sticks, with varying quality, but the club would be crazy not to cash-in in January if the offer is there.