Newcastle United have not received any official approaches for Nick Pope so far this summer, despite the long-serving shot-stopper being linked with the exit door at St James' Park. Pope ended the season as number one after fending off competition from Aaron Ramsdale, and the ex-Bournemouth keeper has now left the club after being sent back to Southampton following his loan stint.
Chronicle Live understands that Pope's future remains unclear and that the 34-year-old's plans at the moment are simply to report for pre-season training next month. Pope has been linked with newly promoted Ipswich Town and Leeds United, but the Tractor Boys have two goalkeepers on the books, and Leeds have three shot-stoppers.
Pope was indeed on Leeds' wish-list last summer, but the Yorkshire club has not made any fresh enquiry, according to reliable sources at Elland Road. The truth is Pope's future now depends on recruitment from sporting director Ross Wilson, with Ewen Jaouen on Newcastle's radar and a potential senior stopper coming in a strong possibility.
Should both deals get done, then Pope's position may be looked at and opportunities explored elsewhere by his agent, with the keeper having one year left on his current deal. As things stand, Odysseas Vlachodimos' loan at Seville is over, and unless a cash deal is arranged with the La Liga side, he too will start pre-season as a squad keeper. The Greek international has two years left on his contract, but has no future on Tyneside with Newcastle open to his sale.
For now, though, the exits of John Ruddy and Max Thompson have made the goalkeeping department look weaker and action will be taken in terms of replacements. Speaking about his rapport with Pope, manager Eddie Howe said: "Nick's had moments where he's not been selected before. He's a high-class person. He thinks of the team first. He's part of our leadership group for a reason, because the lads see that he's a team player fundamentally. He's been excellent, I have to say. He's been excellent."
Howe added: "You can put it into context that the role of a footballer, and especially a goalkeeper, can sometimes be very up and down. But he has to see the longer-term vision, which is he just needs to be at his very best, forget anything else about team selection. So he's really focusing on his training and the fundamentals behind that. I've got no doubt with his attitude, with the work that he'll do with the coaches, he'll be back to his very best very soon."
