Newcastle United needs a replacement for goalkeeper Nick Pope

Newcastle United has been phenomenal in recent weeks, at one point being on a five-game win streak.

Unfortunately for the Magpies, that win streak was ended by Aston Villa this past weekend, in due part to the horrific goalkeeping of Nick Pope.

Aston Villa’s English midfielder Jacob Ramsey (L) shoots past Newcastle United’s Swiss defender Fabian Schar (2R) and Newcastle United’s Dutch defender Sven Botman (R) to score the opening goal of the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Newcastle Utd at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on April 15, 2023.(Photo by GEOFF CADDICK/AFP via Getty Images) /

While some may argue the fact that Aston Villa was just better than Newcastle United and the team as a whole looked stagnant, Pope showed little effort inside the box.

In the first goal that was scored by Aston Villa, Pope dove for the ball feet-first, something that makes it tremendously harder to save the ball. While that isn’t necessarily the issue, the main problem was that he was so far back on his line that there was no room for error, and that error occurred.

After going down 1-0 early, the team’s morale was instantly destroyed. In the second half, the second goal was found, and still, the Magpies could not respond.

For the third and final goal of the game, Pope was flat-footed and went feet-first diving for the ball which appeared to go just under his leg. While the claim can be made that defender Kieran Trippier was in an awkward position and Pope couldn’t see the ball, his reaction time was still very weak.

Aston Villa’s English striker Ollie Watkins (L) scores their third goal past Newcastle United’s English defender Kieran Trippier (C) and Newcastle United’s English goalkeeper Nick Pope (R) during the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Newcastle Utd at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on April 15, 2023. / (Photo by GEOFF CADDICK/AFP via Getty Images) /

This has not been the first time that Pope has had a blatantly bad game either.

Against Liverpool before the Carabao Cup Final, he dove face-first outside of the box onto the ball, drawing a red card. He was sent off midway through the first half and suspended for the next three games including the Cup final that the Magpies ended up losing.

His actions ended up skewing the team for the next few games and were also a piece in why the Magpies lost their flow midway through February.

While Pope is not a bad goalkeeper by any means, but when he has an off day and makes bad decisions, those decisions absolutely destroy the system and play the team has established.

Going forward, with the Champions League in site, the team needs to target a new goalkeeper in the offseason.

Well, who could Newcastle United look at?

Options can be Manchester United’s David De Gea, who played for a team that has found tremendous success, or Inaki Pena of Barcelona.

De Gea could provide consistent elite play, while Pena offers a future that looks bright. He has shown that he can be consistent as well and has a very high ceiling.

Must Read. Is Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney a perfect fit for Newcastle United?. light

Will Newcastle United make a run for someone outside of Nick Pope? or will he remain the starting keeper for next season?

Newcastle Toons /

Want your voice heard? Join the Newcastle Toons team!

Write for us!