Newcastle's transfer window has been unimpressive, to be honest. Though the squad needed reinforcements on multiple areas, they have successfully brought in Anthony Elanga as their only major signing so far. Meanwhile, the Magpies have lost out on the majority of their targets.
Most recently, the club suffered another blow when Manchester City swooped in to sign Burnley keeper James Trafford, despite Newcastle being close to securing the player earlier. As a result, the Magpies have shifted their focus to other alternative candidates to protect their goal, and it looks like they have already taken a major step in securing one of their targets.
According to Fabrizio Romano, who posted on X, Aaron Ramsdale has said yes to Newcastle, and the club has already sent an official bid to Southampton for the keeper. The deal involves a high loan fee with the salary covered and a buy option as well. Southampton are open to agreeing to the deal but are asking for a higher fee.
Newcastle close to signing Aaron Ramsdale on loan with option to buy
Fans will certainly have mixed feelings about this deal. On one hand, there’s little doubt that Ramsdale is a highly talented individual, and the former Arsenal keeper has shown moments of promise over the last few seasons. On the other hand, the English international has been part of teams that have been relegated three times in the last five years, first with Bournemouth in 2020, then with Sheffield United in 2021, and last season with Southampton.
Newcastle’s goalkeeping situation is facing some uncertainty at the moment. Nick Pope is the only prominent option between the sticks available to Eddie Howe, as Martin Dubravka might leave this summer. The Slovak international’s absence from the squad for the pre-season tour in Asia only makes a departure more likely.
Some might ask about the rest of the keepers at the club which include Vlachodimos and Mark Gillespie. But the manager doesn’t seem to trust them as viable options, evident from the fact that only the former made a single appearance in the last campaign, while the latter didn’t feature at all.
So, the signing of Ramsdale is more of a necessity currently. The deal is still not over the line yet, although it looks close. Only time will tell if the English keeper will become the long-term solution between the sticks for Newcastle, or if he'll stay for just a single season on loan.