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Eddie Howe has claimed Newcastle United would not be willing to sanction a transfer exit for Martin Dubravka at the moment.
Dubravka is heading into the final six months of his contract at Newcastle and has reportedly agreed a deal to join Saudi Pro League club Al Shabab next month. Reports from Saudi Arabia claim the deal is as good as ‘done’.
Howe has acknowledged the reports but was quick to shut things down in his pre-match press conference.
“That's news to me,” Howe said. “I'm aware of the rumours but I don't think it's got to that point.”
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Dubravka has played the last three games for Newcastle following injury to Nick Pope. The Magpies have won all three matches, keeping two clean sheets.
"Certainly, we wouldn't want to lose the goalkeeper that's playing for us currently, that wouldn't make sense,” Howe added. “So, no, that isn't a deal that we would want to sanction currently."
“The Martin situation isn't clear-cut, let's wait and see what happens in the next few weeks. I've been really pleased with his reintroduction into the team he's brought calmness and composure, and let's not forget the save he made at Ipswich in a key moment in the game.”
Pope suffered a knee injury during the 4-2 defeat at Brentford earlier this month which has ruled him out for over a month.
Providing an update on Pope’s fitness, Howe said: “He’s doing okay. He was given a time frame initially where he got to rest and a couple of injections and his knee was feeling better. Quite when he’ll be fit is still a difficult one.”
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