Martin Dubravka, the goalkeeper for Newcastle United, is facing a challenging situation where he’s struggling to secure a spot in the first team. Despite being the first-choice goalkeeper for Slovakia, Dubravka hasn’t made any appearances for Newcastle this season.
His predicament began after Karl Darlow’s departure to Leeds United during the summer transfer window, which led to Dubravka becoming the second-choice goalkeeper at Newcastle, with Nick Pope taking the top spot following his transfer from Burnley for £10 million last season.
When Pope joined Newcastle, Dubravka ended up going on loan to Manchester United, as he wasn’t content with his new position at Newcastle. However, the move to Manchester United didn’t prove fruitful in terms of game time, and he eventually cut short his loan and returned to Newcastle in January.
This decision cost him the opportunity to play in the starting XI at Wembley, as his only two appearances for Manchester United were in the Carabao Cup. This made him ineligible to participate in the final, where Pope was suspended. Loris Karius filled in for the English keeper, and although Dubravka received a winner’s medal, he missed a significant game.
Presently, Dubravka finds himself consistently on the bench, and even in recent games where he could have started, such as the Carabao Cup match against Manchester City, he wasn’t included in the squad.
Following Slovakia’s 3-2 defeat to Portugal, former Slovakia international Robert Vittek has suggested that Dubravka should consider moving to a new club in search of regular playing time.
“With his performance against Portugal, he certainly caught the attention of several interesting clubs. If he doesn’t get an opportunity at Newcastle, I wish him to find a club in January where he will play regularly.”
Personally, I don’t think losing Dubravka in January would be a big concern at this stage, as long as we could replace him with another keeper. We know Loris Karius can perform the job if we need him; it’s just a matter of having someone on the bench in case we lose Pope or Karius.
Dubravka has been a tremendous servant for Newcastle, and he’s had some outstanding moments for us, but he’ll never replace Pope, and he’s still good enough to be a number one someplace, so why not let him go and get it?
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