Nick Pope of Newcastle United in action during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD2 match between R. Union Saint-Gilloise and Newcastle United FC at RSC Anderlecht Stadium on October 01, 2025 in Brussels, Belgium.placeholder image
Nick Pope of Newcastle United in action during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD2 match between R. Union Saint-Gilloise and Newcastle United FC at RSC Anderlecht Stadium on October 01, 2025 in Brussels, Belgium. | Getty Images
A new member of Newcastle United’s leadership group has been confirmed.
Wilson’s departure as a free agent over the summer freed up a space in Newcastle’s six-man leadership group for the 2025/26 season.
Club captain Bruno Guimaraes was added to the leadership group last season, along with Jacob Murphy. They joined the original leadership group members, Jamaal Lascelles, Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn.
Last month, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe was asked about the leadership group and whether a new appointment was close.
He said: “That process is ongoing. We give it to the players to vote, but we wanted to wait until the end of the transfer window when the squad was settled. We’ll find that out in the next few days.”
The Gazette has launched a new WhatsApp NUFC channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates directly to your phone.Simply click this linkto join our NUFC WhatsApp channel.
Newcastle United leadership group votes are in
Ahead of Newcastle United’s Champions League clash with Benfica at St James’ Park, it was confirmed that goalkeeper Nick Pope was voted in as the sixth member of the leadership group.
The more senior squad role for Pope was confirmed in Trippier’s leadership group programme column, as the defender wrote: “Recently, we welcomed Nick Pope into the leadership group.
“The boys voted on it, and Nick’s a great addition. He was already a leader in the dressing room; he brings a lot of banter, but has good opinions on what the team needs, so he’ll bring a lot to the party.
“There are six of us in the leadership group now, but the squad is so determined to work well and do well that they make our jobs easy.”
Nick Pope confirms new Newcastle United deal
There was perhaps a clue Pope had been voted into the leadership group when the goalkeeper was put on media duties ahead of the Benfica match.
Pope has made over 100 appearances since joining Newcastle for £10million from Burnley in 2022.
During his press conference, the 33-year-old confirmed he had extended his stay at Newcastle until the end of the 2026/27 season.
When asked to clarify his contract situation ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League match against Benfica, Pope admitted the reported extension was from a deal he signed over two years ago.
“Tough to say [how it feels] because I signed that in July 2023,” Pope smiled. “So, I was really happy about it then and I'll say my contract's up in July 2027. But yeah, of course, I look forward to spending as long as I can here.
“The club is sort of ever evolving, every transfer window, every few months, whether that's players, new bits around the training ground, just ourselves as a team, I think we've evolved and evolved over that time. And yeah, it's been great to be a part of it.
“You want to be part of it moving forward, really feel like we've got that first trophy under our belt now and we qualified for the Champions League twice and you're kind of looking to do that back to back.”
Continue Reading