The summer window should heat up now that the PSR deadline has passed. Newcastle United should be able to spend some money and improve in key positions. However, they have managed to strengthen their goalkeeping department in recent days.
Odysseas Vlachodimos has signed from Nottingham Forest and it was a deal agreed during the talks over Elliot Anderson’s departure. That was quickly followed by the announcement that John Ruddy had signed on a free transfer, just days after his Birmingham City contract expired.
Eddie Howe now has a stacked goalkeeping department with five players with senior experience. Nick Pope is currently the number one. It is expected that Vlachodimos takes over the number two duties, while Ruddy will be an experienced number three.
This leaves Mark Gillespie as an emergency back-up, giving Howe four goalkeepers in training, which could be useful for small-sided games. Martin Dubravka remains at the club and despite playing a number of games deputising for Pope, it is expected that he leaves this summer. Celtic have been rumoured as a possible destination for him.
Are we now stronger than last season?
That is the question being asked by many on social media and it is a fair one. Earlier in the window, Giorgi Mamardashvili and James Trafford were both linked with a move to St James’ Park. The former would have been seen as a genuine threat for the number one shirt, while the latter would have been a development project for the club.
The two signings in goal seemingly came out of nowhere. Vlachodimos was likely an opportunistic signing that came out of the Anderson talks. It is unlikely that he was a summer target. However, it is easy to see why the club were happy to take him. He is an experienced Greek international, who has played hundreds of games in European football. This included Champions League quarter finals as recently as 2023.
Vlachodimos is a very good shot stopper, as shown by his advanced metrics at Benfica. During his…
Source link : https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2024/07/02/newcastles-surprise-double-deal-why-did-eddie-howe-sign-vlachodimos-and-ruddy/
Author : Jake Jackman
Publish date : 2024-07-02 15:47:35
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