Aaron Ramsdale's spirits were lifted after his derby devastation by an England call-up
Newcastle United goalkeepers Aaron Ramsdale (left) and Nick Pope
Newcastle United goalkeepers Aaron Ramsdale (left) and Nick Pope
View Image
Newcastle United goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is back at Benton after spending time with the England squad last week.
The goalkeeper departed the Three Lions camp last week but did not suffer any type of injury, and his exit was pre-planned. Thomas Tuchel's approach was always to have this spring's camp in two phases, and the on-loan Southampton goalkeeper was scheduled to leave after Friday night's game with Uruguay.
Tuchel did not want to work with a squad that was too big so Ramsdale, AC Milan's Fikayo Tomori and Leeds star Dominic Calvert-Lewin departed early.
It was on Friday that Tuchel's second batch of stars checked into the camp, with Dan Burn and Anthony Gordon included in the 11 who came into consideration for tonight's game against Japan at a sold-out Wembley.
Ramsdale now returns to the scene at Newcastle, where a bruised squad have started to pick up the pieces from their Tyne-Wear derby defeat at St James' Park. Howe must decide on whether big changes are needed for the April 12 trip to Crystal Palace but still has plenty of thinking time between now and then ahead of another free weekend.
Ramsdale's position was already under scrutiny after leaking seven goals in Barcelona before the derby. But two uncertain moments in the derby triggered the debate on who should start between the posts for the game at Selhurst Park.
Whether Howe feels now is the right time to bring Nick Pope back in remains to be seen. But Pope has not figured since February 28 when he dropped a clanger against Everton in a 3-2 defeat.
Speaking about Pope on March 6, Howe said: "Nick's had moments where he's not been selected before.
"He's a high-class person. He thinks of the team first. He's part of our leadership group for a reason, because the lads see that he's a team player fundamentally. He's been excellent, I have to say. He's been excellent.
"You can put it into context that the role of a footballer, and especially a goalkeeper, can sometimes be very up and down. But he has to see the longer-term vision, which is that he just needs to be at his very best, forget anything else about team selection.
"So he's really focusing on his training and the fundamentals behind that. I've got no doubt with his attitude, with the work that he'll do with the coaches, he'll be back to his very best very soon."
*Get Chronicle Premium now for just £1*HERE– exclusive news and features, our NUFC and Academy notebooks, John Gibson's columns plus an ad-lite experience****
Get 50% off England's home shirt
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Content Image
Content Image