Newcastle United moving Darlow would be risky without a replacement
It would be foolish for Newcastle United to sell Karl Darlow if they don’t have a new goalkeeper lined up.
The goalkeeper position was one that movement was expected this offseason. Karl Darlow, Rob Elliot, Tim Krul, Freddie Woodman and Matz Sels were all on the clubs books when the season ended in May. Sels began the Championship campaign as the first choice before falling out of favor early and never getting it back. He has since been loaned to Anderlecht. Darlow replaced Sels as the top keeper for most of the season, with Elliot rehabbing a knee injury and Krul and Woodman on loan. In the final weeks of the season, it was Elliot stepping in between the sticks for Newcastle United as they locked up automatic promotion. Now, it appears Darlow may be the next keeper to depart the club.
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Woodman needs experience and will surely be loaned out this season, likely to a Championship level side. Krul has been linked with a departure, but now it seems Darlow may be the one out the door. Goalkeeper was absolutely a position of surplus for Newcastle this offseason, but if you sell Darlow and loan Woodman and Sels, you’re left with only Elliot and Krul. With the club for over a decade now, Krul’s quality has never been more up in the air. He only made eight starts for Newcastle in 2015-16. Last season, he didn’t impress on two loan stints with Dutch clubs Ajax and AZ. Elliot was strong in his few appearances last year, but the sample size wasn’t enough to lock up the top spot and he’s coming off a major knee injury.
This summer, the club’s been linked with Willy Caballero, who signed with Chelsea, and Pepe Reina, who appears to be staying with Napoli. Joe Hart has been a name mentioned recently, but nothing concrete. Also, there will be numerous suitors for the English national team keeper.
If Newcastle is ready and willing to sell Karl Darlow, who was huge for their promotion last season, it needs to be because they have a replacement coming in. Woodman is still too inexperienced, and a duo of Elliot and Krul will not ease Toon Army’s nerves as the club will look to avoid relegation in their first year back in the EPL.