boss Eddie Howe has admitted that have made contact with his club over signing Martin Dubravka.
Erik ten Hag is keen to sign an experienced goalkeeper – one who is comfortable with the ball at this feet – to provide competition for David de Gea .
De Gea remains firmly established as United’s No.1 but his suitability to Ten Hag’s style has been questioned with doubts surfacing as a consequence of his errors in the calamitous 4-0 defeat at Brentford earlier this month.
Dubravka had been battling it out for the No.1 position at St James’ Park and the summer arrival of Nick Pope has plunged him down Howe’s pecking order, with the 33-year-old finding himself on the bench for the Magpies’ first three games.
He was not included in the squad for Newcastle’s Carabao Cup win over Tranmere Rovers on Wednesday, with Howe opting to start Karl Darlow instead.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Howe said: [Martin Dubravka is] not in talks with Manchester United but there has been contact with the clubs.
‘Those will continue but I’m reluctant to lose him. It’s a decision that’s out of my hands really.’
Dubravka has played 130 times for Newcastle since he joined from Sparta Prague and was named the club’s Player of the Year for 2020.
He would likely replace veteran Tom Heaton as De Gea’s back-up at Old Trafford, after United decided to send Dean Henderson on loan to Nottingham Forest.
United had also held interest in signing Germany international Kevin Trapp, but pulled out of a deal after Frankfurt set their asking price at an exorbitant £21m.
The possibility of signing Odysseas Vlachodimos from Benfica was considered too, but the Portuguese club were unwilling to sell, while Borussia Monchengladbach’s Yann Sommer held reservations about moving to United ahead of the World Cup.
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