A big Newcastle United claim has emerged on Karl Darlow and his status at the club beyond the summer transfer window... 

What's the talk?

Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie has revealed that the shot-stopper's place in the squad is not under threat after the arrival of Nick Pope from Burnley this month.

The reporter claims that the Englishman has been assured of his position on Tyneside and has questioned what that means for the current number one.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “My understanding is that Karl Darlow has been told he’s got a future at the club, so that leaves a bigger question mark over Martin Dubravka. There was a little bit of talk over him leaving in January, but it didn’t materialise at the time.”

Supporters will be gutted

The Toon supporters will be gutted by this claim from Downie for multiple reasons.

Firstly, they will be frustrated by the prospect of Darlow being the number two again next season, as it seems unlikely that he would be happy to be third-choice and not even making the bench.

The former Nottingham Forest man was the back-up throughout the 2021/22 campaign and let Steve Bruce down when he was needed to play in a spell of games.

He made eight appearances in the Premier League and averaged a dismal SofaScore rating of 6.47 - making one error directly leading to a goal and giving away one penalty.

On Match of the Day, Magpies icon Alan Shearer criticised him for his performance against Brentford, saying: "There were so many mistakes all over the place. Darlow there, it’s a basic error, he had a really poor game. He looked really nervous."

These comments and his dreadful statistics in the top-flight illustrate why supporters would not be best pleased with him remaining at the club as he was nowhere near good enough when called upon, whilst they will also be gutted by the prospect of Dubravka departing.

The 33-year-old shot-stopper enjoyed a solid campaign last term as he averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.88 and kept eight clean sheets in 26 appearances. He did not make a single error directly leading to a goal as he proved that he is a better option in the Premier League than Darlow.

Fans would, therefore, prefer to see him stay to compete with Pope and watch the ex-Forest man depart, rather than the other way round.

AND in other news: Offer made: NUFC in talks to sign "world-class" 110-goal "magician", Howe needs him...