Newcastle transfer news: Ex-Magpie claims Eddie Howe has found his Nick Pope replacement

Given the recent long-term Nick Pope injury, there is a need for Eddie Howe to sign a Nick Pope replacement in January. With that in mind, we must expect most of the Newcastle transfer news from now until then to focus on the priority of signing a high-calibre goalkeeper in the new year.

Nick Pope is an exceptional goalkeeper and he will be a big miss for us due to his worrying shoulder injury. For those who couldn't watch the match against Manchester United, it was a great team display as we dominated the match, but it was overshadowed in the dying minutes as Martin Dubravka was forced on to replace the injured Pope.

Dubravka has plenty of Premier League experience, so Eddie Howe will feel confident in the Slovak's ability to step in and fill the void between the sticks left by Pope's absence. However, in the second half of the season, Newcastle fans would like a world-class goalkeeper to step in and help us achieve our objective of another top four finish.

Newcastle transfer news: Ex-Magpie claims Eddie Howe has found his Nick Pope replacement

According to a report by Newcastle World, ex-Magpie goalkeeper Rob Elliot has affirmed that fans needn't worry about Eddie Howe signing a replacement goalkeeper, since Martin Dubravka is more than capable of doing the role left behind by Pope's injury.

While this may be true, and I am a big fan of Dubravka, all it takes is one more injury to the backup goalkeeper and we will be screwed. Therefore, any former plans we had for the January transfer window should be stalled to prioritise signing a new goalkeeper - The earlier the better. Certainly, Eddie Howe shares this belief as we recently reported his new priority was to sign a goalkeeper in January.

Do you think Newcastle need to sign a Nick Pope replacement?