Newcastle keepers under the spotlight, as Eddie Howe looks to trim his squad

NEWCASTLE: Head coach Eddie Howe has admitted he will have to trim his Newcastle United squad this month — and one of his goalkeepers looks to be most at risk. The Magpies currently have four senior keepers on their books, with summer signing Nick Pope claiming the No. 1 slot from Martin Dubravka for the start of the Premier League season.

Beyond that, former No. 1 Karl Darlow and ex-Motherwell keeper Mark Gillespie are the other two senior players in that position who currently find themselves out of the first-team frame. While Newcastle named four keepers in their 25-man Premier League squad at the start of last season — Dubravka, Darlow, Gillespie and recently departed Freddie Woodman — due to illness and injury, Howe accepts doing so this season seems an unlikely prospect, especially with the intent to still sign at least two more outfield players before the close of the transfer window on Sept.

1. When asked whether one will leave, he said: “It’s too early to say. I don’t know.

Certainly, I wouldn’t want anyone to leave, but I’m well aware four is a difficult number to carry. “My wish would be to do that, but obviously I’ve got to think of the players as well. Hopefully we’ll make the right decision.” While Pope left Burnley to play in the Premier League, no doubt with promises of first-team football ahead of the World Cup this winter, there was still a degree of surprise on Tyneside that fan favorite Dubravka did not retain his spot in Howe’s starting 11.

The head coach said it was no easy decision to pick who started the season between the sticks, with Howe keen to praise Newcastle’s weekend understudy. “It was a very, very, very difficult decision,” said Howe. “I’ve got three quality goalkeepers to pick from in