Newcastle United’s player leadership group has a new member.
Callum Wilson’s departure in the summer freed up a place in the Magpies’ six-man player leadership group ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Wilson spent five years at Newcastle after joining from AFC Bournemouth for £20million, scoring 49 goals in 130 appearances before joining West Ham United on a free transfer.
Nick Pope on being named in Newcastle United’s player leadership group
On becoming the latest member, Pope said: “It's a really exciting thing to be a part of. Anything you get voted in by your fellow players, it's a proud moment. I've been here for three years so I'm really happy they've chosen me to represent them as well as the other leaders.
“The Leadership Group now has a really great mix of positions, players who have been through different clubs, and been at the club for different periods of time. We bring a great blend that can help the squad together.
“I'm really proud to be part of the group and I’m really going to try and carry on the good work the group has already done.”
Pope is into his fourth season at Newcastle after joining from Burnley in the summer of 2022.
Making over 100 appearances in that time, the 33-year-old has helped the club to end its 70-year domestic trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup in March and qualifying for the Champions League twice in three seasons.
Read More
“I've got a lot of experience, and I've been around the block through a lot of seasons of football,” Pope continued. “Doing that, you come across a lot of different scenarios that can help the younger players in the squad.
“And the nature of being a goalkeeper is that it never goes 100 per cent so you find yourself with quite a good middle line and even way of looking at things.
“I have a real enthusiasm for the game, an enthusiasm for playing for this club and at this level. That can get lost in football sometimes: how lucky we are to be in this position.
“So it's about setting a high standard within myself and holding other people to high standards, that's something that plays a big part in the dressing room.”
Nick Pope new contract at Newcastle United confirmed
Earlier this week, Pope confirmed he had extended his contract at St James’ Park until 2027 following recent reports.
Speaking ahead of the 3-0 win over Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday, Pope said: “Tough to say because I signed that in July 2023! So I was really happy about it then and yeah, as I 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