Newcastle made transfer mistake on Premier League ace Shearer calls ‘outstanding’ – not Isak or Anderson

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Newcastle United’s transfer window over the summer was frantic to say the least, as their chase for a striker went on until the final few seconds of the deadline.

The Magpies qualified for the Champions League via a fifth-placed finish in the Premier League last season, and fans would have been anticipating a strong window to further boost their credentials.

But for various reasons, that took a long time to happen.

Their search for a new striker took a long while, with Newcastle eventually being snubbed by Bryan Mbeumo, Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko among others before landing on Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa.

Yet it was away from the striker search in which Eddie Howe made arguably his biggest mistake, by selling veteran goalkeeper and fan favourite Martin Dubravka to Burnley – with the Slovakian having massively impressed so far at Turf Moor.

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Newcastle may come to rue the sale of Martin Dubravka after superb Burnley form

Dubravka joined Newcastle in January 2018 from Sparta Prague, and he instantly became their first-choice goalkeeper after fleeting appearances from Rob Elliot and Karl Darlow in the first half of the 2017-18 campaign.

He took on the first-team spot for a number of seasons at St. James’ Park, being an ever-present through the 2018-19 and 2019-20 campaigns, before battling with Nick Pope in the latter stages of his Tyneside career.

Even making 23 Premier League appearances in 2023-24, the 55-time cap was imperious and although Pope won the battle, it meant Eddie Howe had a reliable stopper and one of the best second-choice goalkeepers in the division.

That came to an end this summer with Dubravka joining Burnley for regular game time, and it’s proven to be a masterstroke from the Clarets. Per the Premier League website, he has made the most saves of any league goalkeeper this season with 29, four ahead of another former Magpies goalkeeper in Matz Sels.

Instead, Newcastle signed Aaron Ramsdale on loan for a ‘heavy loan fee’ with an option to buy. But the England international has only featured in one game, the Carabao Cup win over third-tier Bradford City, and Dubravka’s excellence means that could be a mistake.

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Newcastle legend Alan Shearer gave Martin Dubravka huge praise recently after superb performance

There is no doubting the quality that Dubravka has in goal.

179 appearances for the Magpies saw him keep 54 clean sheets in the early days of their rise up the Premier League after their takeover, and he will be remembered on Tyneside as a dependable star.

So much so, that club legend Alan Shearer even labelled him as ‘outstanding’ in a previous interview.

The Newcastle native put Dubravka in his Team of the Week last month for a defiant performance against Nottingham Forest, writing for the Premier League: “An inspired display from Burnley’s goalkeeper, who produced several outstanding saves to earn his side a valuable point against Nottingham Forest.”

If Pope continues to start over Ramsdale, it could be another Newcastle transfer mistake, adding to their list of rued sales that includes Liverpool star Alexander Isak and Forest metronome Elliot Anderson.