Ramsdale has moved ahead of Nick Pope in the goalkeeping pecking order on Tyneside this season and started Newcastle’s last six matches, including both legs of the Champions League defeat to Barcelona.
The terms of the 27-year-old’s loan move from St Mary’s include a clause that enables Newcastle to complete a permanent transfer for around £20m this summer.
However, the indication from senior sources within St James’ Park is that the club will not be triggering that clause and will instead enter the market to secure a new number one.
Nick Pope, who was dropped after a series of high-profile errors earlier this season, is contracted to the Magpies to the summer of 2027 and will be given the chance to challenge for a starting spot next season. However, the expectation is that a new goalkeeper will be arriving to assume the number one role.
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Ramsdale has delivered some mixed performances since stepping into the starting side, with Sunday’s display against Sunderland encapsulating his inconsistency. He made a brilliant first-half save from Chemsdine Talbi, but then flapped at a corner in the second half, enabling Trai Hume to fire in the hooked shot that eventually ended with Talbi equalising.
His displays on Tyneside having earned him a recall to the current England squad and there is a chance he could feature in one of the forthcoming friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, However, it is unlikely he will make the cut for Thomas Tuchel’s final World Cup squad.
Eddie Howe is understood to have been impressed by Ramsdale’s character and professionalism, but Newcastle’s recruitment team, led by new sporting director Ross Wilson, intend to be hard-headed this summer and the feeling is that there will be better alternatives on the open market.
Newcastle remain interested in James Trafford, who rejected the chance to move to Tyneside last summer in order to join Manchester City. Trafford is known to have been frustrated with his lack of game time under Pep Guardiola this season.
The Magpies have also been linked with Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen and Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel, although a deal for the latter would be extremely hard to engineer.