Newcastle are on the hunt for a new goalkeeper and they have a transfer template to follow
Newcastle United's Nick Pope and (inset from centre) Manchester United's Senne Lammens and Robin Roeffs of Sunderland
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Newcastle United are set to be in the market for a new goalkeeper this summer, with both Nick Pope and Aaron Ramsdale struggling for form this season.
Pope has held the number one position with aplomb in the three seasons prior to this campaign but has failed to replicate those exploits this term.
Too often, the England international has been guilty of costly errors and that was again the case in Saturday's disappointing 3-2 defeat at home to Everton.
Pope failed to deal with a tame effort from Dwight McNeil and instead of parrying the ball away from danger he pushed it straight into the path of Toffees forward Beto to tap the ball home for a simple finish.
Ramsdale had an extended period in the side at the end of 2025 when Pope was ruled out with a groin injury but failed to grasp his opportunity to displace Pope from the side.
The former Arsenal goalkeeper arrived on loan from Southampton last summer and it would be a major surprise if Newcastle made it a permanent stay.
As such, a new first choice goalkeeper is expected to be a transfer priority this summer for the Magpies and they could do much worse than looking at the approach of this evening's opponents Manchester United.
After two tumultuous seasons with Andre Onana in goal, Manchester United went down the data route to sign Senne Lammens, an unknown goalkeeper from the Belgian League, from Royal Antwerp.
He has restored calm between the posts for the Red Devils and he has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League this term. So, too, has Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs, who the Black Cats also plucked from relative obscurity when they signed him from Dutch side NEC Nijmegen.
And it is a transfer route Newcastle have been encouraged to replicate.
"United's recruitment last summer was a mix of Premier League-proven players (Mbeumo and Cunha) and data-driven signings from abroad (Sesko and Lammens)," Steven Railston, Manchester United correspondent for the Manchester Evening News, told Chronicle Live.
"United have overhauled their data department and invested heavily in staff to improve. They believe data can provide an edge in the transfer market, and Lammens ranked highly across all key metrics during his time playing in Belgium.
"Lammens was not a secret in scouting circles - he was known to have big potential - but the way he has seamlessly adapted to life in the Premier League at 23 has been remarkable.
"He transmits confidence to the team, whereas his predecessor, Andre Onana, transmitted nerves. Data-driven signings are riskier, but the pay-off can be huge if the player is right. Lammens is certainly the right fit for United, and Newcastle would do well to crunch their own numbers to find a replacement for Pope, who looks well past his best."
Newcastle sporting director Ross Wilson hinted that United will look to find value outside of the Premier League in the summer transfer window and that could extend to their goalkeeper search.
"Moving forward, we definitely want to expand our recruitment network," Wilson told Chronicle Live back in December.
"We’ve already done that, to be honest, in my time here. We’ve already expanded the recruitment network. We’ll continue to do so as we move forward.
"I think it’s also clear that we feel that it’s highly likely, not always, but highly likely that there’ll be more value outside of the Premier League than there is in it. It’s not always the case, but I think it would be a fair assumption to say that’s something we’ll be looking into."
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