It’s no secret that ahead of next season, Eddie Howe will want as deep and talented a squad as possible.
With Champions League football returning to Tyneside, and many already fancying us to enjoy a strong defence of our Carabao Cup crown, there’ll no doubt be plenty of minutes to go around for our players.
However, in a crucial World Cup year, many big names will be eyeing up as many opportunities as possible to shine and impress. But with how our current senior squad is set up under Howe, this unfortunately won’t happen for a number of our players.
One player in particular is set to hold “crunch talks” with the gaffer over his long term future at the club, as he’s adamant about being a starter at this stage of his career.
According to [The Chronicle’s](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/martin-dubravka-transfer-request-cards-31864353) Lee Ryder, Martin Dubravka and Eddie Howe are set to meet during pre-season to discuss the goalkeeper’s current position at Newcastle United.
Dubravka, who signed a contract extension back in January, enjoyed a stellar few months deputising in place of the injured Nick Pope earlier this season.
However, upon Pope’s return, the Englishman almost immediately regained his starting position, and the highly-speculated arrival of James Trafford or another younger goalkeeper, Dubravka’s place in the goalkeeper hierarchy is at risk.
Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, Dubravka is understood to be keen on retaining his No.1 spot for the Slovakian National Team and won’t settle for a third choice role in light of our interest in James Trafford.
Securing regular minutes will be key, which may see him request either clarification over his future at the club, or even put in a transfer request.
Some people remark that being a third choice goalkeeper is one of the dream jobs in club and international football: that’s clearly not the case for Dubravka.
The 36-year-old does have a right to feel slightly-aggrieved over his current position, as seemingly he was convinced to stay ahead of a big payday in Saudi Arabia under the pretence that he would be the starting goalkeeper for the rest of the 2024/25 season and possibly beyond.
Even if the club don’t sign another goalkeeper this window, it may still be worth considering selling Dubravka and recouping some money on a player who clearly isn’t 100% content with his position.
The issue that Howe may then think about is who does he call upon if Pope was to be injured for the third consecutive season? Odysseas Vlachodimos has been retained by the club, and does boast experience in European competition during his time with Benfica.
However, the Greek is being tipped to leave on loan, and there’s no guarantees we sign Trafford if Burnley continue to demand close to £40m for their number one.