One of the biggest questions entering next season is what keepers will be on the roster for Newcastle United.
Flashback to the beginning of last season. Tim Krul and Freddie Woodman go out on loans, Rob Elliot is rehabbing a knee injury, and Karl Darlow is backing up first choice keeper Matz Sels. Since then, a lot has changed for the Newcastle shot stoppers. Let’s first look at the two players that were out on loans. Tim Krul spent the season between Ajax and AZ. He never appeared for Ajax’s first side, and had a decent run with AZ in the second half of the season. He’s been signed with Newcastle for over a decade, making more than 150 appearances for the club. Woodman, the youth English national team first choice keeper, played for Kilmarnock after a January loan. He played well before joining England’s side for the U-20 World Cup in Korea.
Rob Elliot spent most of the year away from the first team. He was rehabbing his knee, then got match time with the Newcastle reserves. With the club needing a win to secure promotion, Elliot suddenly replaced Karl Darlow for the remainder of the matches. Darlow was the first choice keeper for most of the season. He took over after Sels made some silly mistakes in his first season Tyneside. Darlow’s place was good for the most part, outside of the occasional major lapse.
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Now, who will be Rafa Benitez’s first choice man between the sticks next season? Will he stick with Elliot? Go back to Krul or Darlow? Sign a new player? The two biggest locks are Sels leaving on a transfer, and Woodman being loaned out. Sels never regained Rafa’s trust, and didn’t play particularly well in the cup matches he saw action in. Any club interested, that offers to counteract what Newcastle signed him for, will likely get Sels. Woodman is a future star, but he is still too young. I would love to see him loaned out to a Championship side. He would get quality experience, and continue to push towards becoming a first team member of the Magpies.
I think Elliot gets the first chance. He was successful in his Premier League chances with the club. Darlow will push him for that job though. He is a huge reason the club earned promotion, and won’t sit comfortably on the bench. Krul may endure another loan stint. He is the furthest removed from consistent match play for Newcastle. He also couldn’t even see the pitch for Ajax. Whoever wins the job will have earn it. All of the keepers are incredibly talented, and possess different skill sets.