England goalkeeper Nick Pope has secured his Premier League future by joining Newcastle United after suffering the pain of relegation with Burnley.
Pope, 30, has reportedly cost Newcastle around £10million and is expected to replace Martin Dubravka as Eddie Howe's number one.
The former Charlton Athletic player has signed a four-year contract at Newcastle and becomes the Magpies' second confirmed deal of the close season, after Matt Targett's loan move last term was made permanent.
Pope, capped eight times by England, continued to impress at Burnley even as the Clarets headed for the Championship. It was inevitable he would leave after they went down, given his desire to play at the World Cup later this year.
Among goalkeepers with at least 10 appearances in the 2021-22 Premier League, Pope had the fourth best save percentage (71.69 per cent).
He managed nine clean sheets from 36 appearances, which was more shut-outs than Manchester United's David de Gea (eight from 38 games) and West Ham's Lukasz Fabianski (eight from 37 games).
While at Burnley, where he spent six seasons, he was named in the 2019-20 Premier League team of the year after keeping 15 clean sheets, which was bettered only by Manchester City's Ederson.
Head coach 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.
"There has been a lot of interest in him from other clubs this summer, so I'd like to thank our owners and everyone behind the scenes for getting us ahead of the competition.
"I'm delighted he is joining us as we prepare for the exciting challenge ahead."
Pope is relishing the challenge, with Newcastle having enjoyed a revival in the second half of the season following an influx of transfer funds from the club's new Saudi owners.
From looking like relegation fodder, Newcastle raced up the table to finish in 11th place, while Burnley ended up 18th in the 20-team table.
Pope said Newcastle had been "taking good steps in the right direction in the recent past".
"This club maybe underperformed in the past a little and would like to perform better. The ambitions are there to go to the next level," Pope added in an interview on the club's website.
"It's something for myself that's really exciting to be a part of."
Newcastle confirmed the long-anticipated arrival of sporting director Dan Ashworth in May, after he left Brighton and Hove Albion, and have been strongly linked in recent weeks with Lille defender Sven Botman and Reims forward Hugo Ekitike.
Kane, Mbappe and Osimhen – A look at Real Madrid’s possible striking targets
Real Madrid are in the market for a new centre-forward after announcing Karim Benzema’s departure.
The France international scored 354 goals in 648 appearances to become Real’s second all-time top scorer, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, during a 14-year stay in the Spanish capital.
Here, the PA news agency runs the rule over the main contenders to succeed Benzema at the Bernabeu.
Harry KaneEngland captain Kane would appear to be a natural fit for Real given his unceasing ability to score goals for Tottenham.
Kane, who has one year left on his Spurs contract, turns 30 next month, but that is unlikely to put Real off a striker who is the Premier League’s second highest goalscorer and will be strongly coveted by Manchester United and others this summer.
Real have tempted Gareth Bale and Luka Modric away from Tottenham in the past and might be hopeful of striking a deal, with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy unwilling to sell Kane to a Premier League rival in the past.
Kylian MbappeThe World Cup winner was seemingly on his way to Madrid last summer before choosing to stay at Paris St Germain and chase Champions League glory there.
Like Kane, Mbappe comes with a goals guarantee as he has scored more than 200 for PSG, but the Frenchman has more time on his side than the England forward as he does not celebrate his 25th birthday until December.
Mbappe is a thrilling spectacle in full flight and releasing him from his eye-watering PSG contract, which runs until June 2025, might take a world record transfer fee.
Victor OsimhenNapoli’s first Serie A title for 33 years was fuelled by the goals of Osimhen.
The 24-year-old Nigeria star scored 26 goals in 32 games, with the 6ft 1in striker’s game based around pace, power and athleticism.
Osimhen has two years remaining on his current Napoli deal and has also attracted interest from Manchester United, with Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag known to be a big admirer.
Kai HavertzOn the face of it, Germany international Havertz would appear to be a strange replacement for goal machine Benzema.
It would not be a like-for-like signing as the 23-year-old Havertz, in a false nine role, struggled to provide the goals Chelsea needed last season.
But his tactical intelligence could enable him to dovetail well with Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior and Real could get a reduction on the £76million Chelsea paid Bayer Leverkusen for Havertz in 2020.
Jonathan DavidCanada striker David has a growing reputation for club and country and seems ready to step on to a bigger stage after spells in Belgium and France.
The 23-year-old has scored over 50 Ligue 1 goals for Lille since joining from Gent in 2020, 24 of them coming this season.
David is known for his pace and versatility, as well his pressing ability out of possession, and can also operate as a second striker.
Football rumours: Manchester City look to tie down Erling Haaland to new deal
Manchester City are looking to fend off Real Madrid to keep hold of striker Erling Haaland, according to The Daily Telegraph. The double winners – who aim to complete the treble in Saturday’s Champions League final – are hoping the 22-year-old Norwegian signs a new deal.
City’s rivals Manchester United believe landing Tottenham striker Harry Kane is “unlikely”, says The Daily Telegraph. But they are on the brink of a £50million offer to Chelsea for midfielder Mason Mount.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have edged ahead of Paris St Germain in the pursuit of midfielder Manuel Ugarte from Sporting. The Daily Mirror says the proposed deal for the 22-year-old Uruguayan would include buying a minority stake in the Portuguese club.
Crystal Palace have offered Wilfried Zaha, 30, a fresh contract but they face competition from Al Sadd for the forward, according to The Sun. The deal is worth around £150,000 a week, which falls short of the offer from the Qatari side.
Social media round-upPlayers to watchHabib Diallo: West Ham and Burnley are keen on the 27-year-old Senegal striker from Strasbourg.
Jack Butland: The former England goalkeeper, 30, is wanted by Rangers after Crystal Palace opted not to extend his contract following a loan spell at Manchester United.
Milan 3-1 Hellas Verona: Leao double condemns visitors to Serie A relegation play-off
Milan signed off the Serie A season with a 3-1 victory as Rafael Leao's double condemned Hellas Verona to a relegation play-off with Spezia.
The Rossoneri wrapped up a frustrating campaign on a winning note at San Siro, with a late Leao brace enough to seal three points.
Milan had already secured Champions League football for another term but struggled at times against the visitors, who cancelled out Olivier Giroud's first-half penalty through Marco Faraoni's 72nd-minute strike.
Yet Leao struck in the 85th minute and again seven minutes later, leaving Verona to face a relegation decider with Spezia, who succumbed to a late 2-1 loss at Roma.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
