Newcastle agree deal to sell “important” player who Eddie Howe loves


Newcastle United have agreed to sell a player who was recently praised by manager Eddie Howe, according to a new report.

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Newcastle heaped further 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 victory for the Mapgies, which was their fourth on the bounce in the Premier League.

Across those four games, Newcastle haven’t conceded a single goal, and speaking after the win over United, manager Eddie Howe highlighted the importance of his side’s new-found defensive strength.

“Early in the season we were on the other end of it by conceding early goals and it makes such a difference [reversing it],” he explained. “We gave ourselves mountains to climb at times, particularly on the road, and it is great to reverse it the last few games.”

Newcastle United’s last five games (all competitions)

Opponent

H/A

Score

Leicester City

H

4-0 win

Brentford

H

3-1 win

Ipswich Town

A

4-0 win

Aston Villa

H

3-0 win

Manchester United

A

2-0 win

Howe also heaped praise on Isak, who has now hit 11 goals in his last 11 games in the top flight.

“[Isak] has been really, really good,” he said. “His all round game is really strong. He can do a bit of everything. Most importantly he needs to be in the right place at the right time to score goals. Early in the match it was a great cross from Lewis Hall and Alex was there with the header.”

Newcastle agree to sell Dubravka

Another player who has recently been 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 has picked it up from minute one. He’s distributed the ball really well. That’s been a huge thing in his game that has always been there and, against Aston Villa, you think back to a number of aerial claims he’s taken under pressure, dealing with that aspect really well too. I’ve been very pleased with him,” Howe recently said of the Slovak.

Martin Dubravka 2024/25 stats (all competitions)

Games

6

Goals conceded

1

Clean sheets

5

Stats correct as of January 2, 2025. (WhoScored)

Howe, however, may soon have to make do without the player he once called “important”. According to a new report from Asharq Al-Awsat, Newcastle have now agreed a deal 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 made official.

Martin-Dubravka-Newcastle-United

Should Dubravka complete his reported 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.


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