Eddie Howe has insisted he does not want to part with Slovakia goalkeeper Martin Dubravka - despite accepting he is no longer number one at St James' Park.
Dubravka was initially loaned to Manchester United after the signing of Nick Pope, but he struggled for game-time at Old Trafford and found himself recalled to Newcastle in January. Dubravka will be between the posts for the final day of the season against Chelsea but his future will be unclear after that.
Dubravka's agents tried in vain to get him a permanent move last summer after he lost his place to Pope. But Howe is positive about his presence at St James'.
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Howe said: "I very much hope his (Dubravka) future is here. "I rate Martin very highly, I always have done. It was just that last summer we had the opportunity to recruit Nick, and Nick has done incredibly well so it’s been difficult for Martin to get the game time that he wants.
"We need as good a squad as we can have going into a season where we’re going to have loads of games, so if Martin were to stay, I think he’d get a lot of football."
Dubravka would be potentially used in rotation next season with Champions League games and the Carabao Cup to come before the turn of the new year. But his representatives might have other ideas for the ex-Sparta Prague stopper.
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