Martin Dubravka is arguably Newcastle United’s best pound-for-pound signing since the club returned to the Premier League five years ago. In January 2018, the Slovakian shot-stopper was a relative unknown when Rafa Benitez signed him on deadline day but everyone on Tyneside knew his name 10 days later following a stellar debut against Manchester United.
A string of cat-like saves shut out Jose Mourinho’s rampant Red Devils and earned the on-loan goalkeeper the man of the match award on his debut. Further heroics forced Newcastle into paying a measly £4million fee to make the move permanent before other clubs came sniffing for a bargain.
Dubravka quickly became a staple of the side and played every minute of the 18/19 and 19/20 top-flight campaigns. In the latter, he made the most saves (140) in the division - a feat that merited Newcastle’s Player of the Year award.
