An update has emerged on Newcastle United goalkeeper Loris Karius and his future at St. James' Park beyond the January transfer window...

What's the talk?

Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie has revealed that the German shot-stopper is poised to put pen to paper on an extension with the Magpies.

The reporter Tweeted: "Loris Karius is close to signing a deal to extend his Newcastle contract until the end of the season.

"And according to colleague @Plettigoal, further talks have also been taking place over a longer contract for the German goalkeeper #NUFC."

Can finally ditch Karl Darlow

Extending Karius' contract with the club could allow Newcastle to finally part ways with long-serving goalkeeper Karl Darlow as the Englishman would be one of four shot-stoppers on Tyneside.

Nick Pope started between the sticks in the recent 1-0 win over Fulham in the Premier League at St. James' Park and Martin Dubravka, who recently returned from his loan spell with Manchester United, was on the bench as his deputy.

This indicates that they are Eddie Howe's first-choice options in goal and that would leave Karius and Darlow fighting it out to be third in the pecking order, with the former penning a contract extension potentially showing that he has won that battle.

The German colossus remaining with the Magpies for the rest of this season, and possibly beyond, could then open the door for the Englishman to depart as it seems unlikely that a fourth-choice goalkeeper will get minutes between now and May - as three other players in that position would need to be unavailable.

Darlow was called upon in the 2021/22 campaign after an injury to Dubravka and struggled badly in the Premier League, showing that he was not up to the task of being a number one in the top-flight.

The £30k-per-week shot-stopper averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.47 across eight appearances in the division and conceded 1.9 goals per match between the sticks.

In those games, the former Nottingham Forest 'keeper let in 4.5 more goals than the average goalkeeper would be expected to from the post-shot xG that he faced, which essentially means that Darlow underperformed significantly in terms of shot-stopping.

Therefore, the 32-year-old is a liability at Premier League level and is not a goalkeeper who can be relied upon by Howe, which is why he should now be ditched from the squad following the news that Karius is set to stay as back-up behind Pope and Dubravka.