Nick Pope is set to remain part of Newcastle United’s matchday squad for the foreseeable future.
Matthias Jaissle has addressed Nick Pope’s role in his Newcastle United squad following a failed summer transfer exit and serious injury blow to goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen.
United made Pope available for transfer at the start of the summer but were ultimately unable to find a new club for the 34-year-old, who is into the final year of his contract at St James’ Park.
Newcastle signed Lukas Hornicek and Jaouen to bolster their goalkeeping options over the summer. Hornicek has started six out of Newcastle’s seven matches so far this season while Jaouen featured in the 3-2 Carabao Cup win over West Bromwich Albion in August.
We have launched a new NUFC YouTube channel to bring you the latest Newcastle United news and analysis.Click this link and subscribe to NUFC Press Box.
Subscribe to our Newcastle United newsletter for all the news straight to your inbox
While Pope is yet to take to the field since Matthias Jaissle’s appointment as head coach, he has recently returned to the bench in Jaouen’s absence.
The 20-year-old missed four matches for Newcastle prior to the international break due to injury before suffering a hamstring injury while away with France Under-21s that is set to rule him out for around two months.
While unintentional, Newcastle keeping hold of Pope may work out for the best in the short term as it allows Jaissle to name an experienced Premier League goalkeeper on the bench to support Hornicek opposed to an academy goalkeeper or Mark Gillespie.
Suddenly, a player who seemed to have already played his final game for the club now has an important support role to play and could even find himself back on the pitch once again.
“I can only think and say positive words about Nick and I did that already in my first press conferences when you were asking,” Jaissle said. “He knows about his role and he reacted really professionally on that.
“So on the pitch, in the training, when we need him, in the friendly, like we played, but also off the pitch. Of course, due to his experience, he's also a leader and he refills all the attributes that we need to see from him and we're all happy that he's with us.”
Still, this doesn’t change the fact that Pope’s future is away from Tyneside with his contract up at the end of the season. From January, he will be able to discuss a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs and has reportedly attracted interest from German giants Bayern Munich.