Newcastle United headlines: Eddie Howe on Nick Pope, Mehrdad Ghodoussi's welcome and Armando Broja links

Your Newcastle United headlines for Friday, June 24.

Eddie Howe has praised the Magpies’ owners for stumping up £10million to sign Nick Pope. The England international signalled his desire to leave Burnley following relegation to the Championship, with Newcastle among a host of clubs interested.

Martin Dubravka has been the undisputed number one on Tyneside since arriving in 2018 but faces stiff competition for his place next season. Howe described his second summer signing as “exceptional” following the announcement.

"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."

Mehrdad Ghodoussi has welcomed Pope to Tyneside following his £10million move. The Toon co-owner regularly uses his social media account to interact with supporters - a far cry from the previous regime under Mike Ashley.

Ghodoussi tweeted: “Welcome to the best club in the world Nick” to his 95,000 followers. Club legend Alan Shearer also gave a one-word response of “yes” on Twitter when asked whether Pope was a good fit for Newcastle.

Newcastle have enquired about signing Chelsea youngster Armando Broja, according to the Northern Echo. Toon chiefs are believed to be growing frustrated at Hugo Ekitike’s hesitancy to sign for United, forcing alternative targets to be considered.

ChronicleLive understood a deal was close to an agreement between Newcastle and Reims but the 20-year-old is stalling on a