EXCITING TIMES FOR TOON POPE SPRINGS ETERNAL
Goalkeeper signing adds to feelgood factor on Tyneside
SIGNING a Pope fits the religious fervour reawakened at Newcastle.
England goalkeeper Nick Pope became Eddie Howe’s second summer signing, behind Matt Targett, with the outlay already up to £27million.
It is a solid start and there is a clamour for the 1,000 extra season tickets on sale next week.
Up to 10,000 fans sat in an online queue just to check their eligibility on Wednesday, amid soaring optimism and renewed hope last seen during the Kevin Keegan era in the mid-90s.
Will the Saudifunded club work a miracle this season, or end up in the confession box unable to live up to their promise of a future title challenge?
Already within the club, there have been warnings of managing expectations, artificially high because of a stunning run of 12 wins in 18 games from January.
Was that a freak revival, or the benchmark for the new campaign that kicks off against Nottingham Forest on August 6?
Howe’s men are surfing a wave of confidence and unity on and off the pitch, with St James’ Park rocking with positivity – claiming 11th place with 49 points, after only managing one solitary win in 22 games by January 21.
That was seven points adrift of West
Ham and 20 behind Arsenal in fifth. Even with £100m of spending that will be a tough gap to bridge.
Top half, eighth at best, would be a realistic target.
But how to get there? The Saudis are throwing hundreds of millions at their LIV golf project – luring top names, some has-beens.
But that will not be happening at Newcastle yet. Top targets such as Sven Botman (£35m) – who has seen Milan’s interest in him cool – and Reims striker Hugo Ekitike (£25m with £12m up front) show Toon will spend, but on prospects not mercenaries.
A budget of up to £80100m will be available, plus the cash from player sales, with Fabian Ruiz of Napoli rated at £26m, Manchester City’s Nathan Ake and Everton’s Dominic Calvert-lewin all mid-priced targets under consideration.
But top-tier stars are out of reach. For now.
Fantasy football recruits are on hold because Newcastle pay £100k a week maximum at the moment – three times less than the likes of Manchester United.
That is why reviving a move for out-of-contract Jesse Lingard, a loan target from January, might prove tough.
Almost as difficult as making signings, the squad needs a clean up, with several senior pros unlikely to make the 25man squad.
Seven face the axe if Botman and Ekitike arrive, with Howe and sporting director Dan Ashworth likely to get ruthless as August approaches. And that is after Dwight Gayle, Freddie Woodman and Isaac Hayden were sold this month.
For now, though, Pope is the new signing and he said: “Now I’m here, I can’t wait to get started.
“The deal has taken a couple of weeks to come to fruition but it got over the line really quickly and I’m delighted to be here and I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into it.”
Howe said: “Nick is an exceptional Premier League and international-level goalkeeper, so I’m very pleased to be adding strong competition to a very important position.”