It's no secret that Eddie Howe and the Magpies were long term admirers of the goalkeeper, who was a leading target in the summer when it became clear he was going to leave Burnley, despite their promotion to the Premier League.
But City then chose to trigger their buy-back clause and the 23-year-old returned to the Etihad.
What he won't have been expecting, however, was for Pep Guardiola to go out and sign Gianluigi Donnarumma. That pushed Trafford down to the role of deputy and he's had to settle for outings in the domestic cup competitions.
He'll be wearing the City gloves at St James' Park tonight.
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So did his Etihad return in the summer finally bring to an end any hopes [Newcastle](https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/newcastleunited/?ref=ed_direct) had of signing the keeper?
“I think he’s a very good goalkeeper," said Howe.
"I’m a big fan of his and I think Manchester City are in a great position with the two goalkeepers they have.
"They have probably got more than that, but the two who have been involved this season have been fantastic goalkeepers.
"I don't look at it that way. I wish him all the best in his career and, if he plays, we will look forward to playing against him.”
After missing out on Trafford, Newcastle signed Aaron Ramsdale, who was the penalty hero in the weekend victory over Bournemouth. With Nick Pope recently returning from injury and going into the team for Premier League games, Howe has a decision to make tonight.
He said: "We will see, we will make a decision on that. I am very happy with both goalkeepers. I thought it was a really nice moment for Aaron on Saturday.
"He had quite a bit to do in the game and I thought he did really well. Big penalty saves, big moment and I am sure that will endear him to everyone connected with the club.
"I think he enjoys those big battles so I was delighted for him personally and I think Nick has come back into the team and done really well.
"I think we have real strength in depth and two great professionals holding such a key position."
It's the third time in four years Newcastle have reached the last four of the Carabao Cup, but in their last two semi-final outings they've played away rather than at home in the first leg.
"I think the natural preference is for the home game to be the second leg because you have a clear understanding of what you need to do," admitted Howe.
"But we need to use the home crowd to our advantage in the first game and to to give everything to impose ourselves on them.
"We really enjoy the two-legged format last year, even the gap between games is quite good because you can detach yourself.
"I think Manchester City are the hardest team to play over two legs in the country. Pep, I'm sure, tactically will have something ready for us and we'll have to be at our best to get through.
"They're a very difficult team to prepare for anyway because they can change a lot with the tactical set-up they have. They're a difficult team to know how to plan for to play against.
"But the priority for us is always ourselves, what we do and how we can hurt them. It's important in our home game we're ourselves and give the best account of ourselves."
While City coasted to an emphatic 10-1 thumping over Exeter in the FA Cup third round at the weekend, Newcastle needed extra time and penalties to get past Bournemouth in a gruelling encounter.
With that in mind, Howe was closely monitoring his players yesterday and planned to hold important talks with members of his first team staff before settling on his team for tonight's game.
"I'll have to have discussions with the medical and performance team and the players themselves, because the physical wellbeing and energy levels are of utmost importance," he said
"It wasn't ideal 120 minutes, but we wanted to get through and whatever it took, we had to do.
"Then we've had the last couple of days to look back, reflect and plan for this game with hopefully a fresh team."