Newcastle United they have agreed to sell a player recently praised by manager Eddie Howe, according to a new report.
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Newcastle inflicted more misery on struggling Manchester United earlier this week by beating them 2-0 at Old Trafford. First-half goals from Alexander Isak and Joelinton were enough to secure an impressive win for the Mapgies, their fourth straight in the Premier League.
In those four games, Newcastle did not concede a single goal, and speaking after the victory over United, the manager Eddie Howe emphasized the importance his side’s newfound defensive strength.
“At the beginning of the season we were on the other side conceding early goals and that makes a big difference [reversing it],” he explained. “Sometimes we’ve given ourselves mountains to climb, especially on the road, and it’s great to turn that around in the last few games.”
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Newcastle United’s last five matches (all competitions) |
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Opponent |
HA |
Achieve |
|
Leicester City |
H |
Victory 4-0 |
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Brentford |
H |
Victory 3-1 |
|
Ipswich Town |
AND |
Victory 4-0 |
|
Aston Villa |
H |
Victory 3-0 |
|
Manchester United |
AND |
Victory 2-0 |
Howe also praised Isak, who has scored 11 goals in his last 11 Premier League games.
“[Isak] was really, really good,” he said. “His all-round game is really strong. A little bit of everything is fine. Most importantly, he has to be in the right place at the right time to score goals. Early in the game it was a great cross from Lewis Hall, and Alex was there with his head.”
Newcastle agreed to sell Dubravka
Another player recently praised by Howe is goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, who has now started all of Newcastle’s last four Premier League games due to a knee injury to regular number one Nick Pope.
“Martin picked it up from the first minute. He distributed the ball really well. That was a big thing in his game that was always there and against Aston Villa, you remember the many aerial claims he made under pressure, I did really well also carried that aspect,” Howe recently said of the Slovak.
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Martin Dubravka 2024/25 statistics (all competitions) |
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|---|---|
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Games |
6 |
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Goals conceded |
1 |
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Clean sheets |
5 |
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Statistics correct as of January 2, 2025 (WhoScored) |
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Howe, however, may soon have to cope without a player he once called “important”. According to a new report by Asharq Al-Awsat, Newcastle have now agreed to sell Dubravka to Al-Shabab this month. The publication claims that Dubravka has also agreed personal terms with the Saudi Pro League club, and that the deal is now awaiting the approval of the Financial Sustainability Committee before it can be officially announced.
If Dubravka completes his announced move to Al-Shabab, he will join forces with a number of former Premier League and European stars, including ex-Southampton defender Wesley Hoedt, Belgium international Yannick Carrasco and former AC Milan midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura.
