Nick Pope’s dislocated shoulder, four minutes from the end of Newcastle United’s win vs Manchester United, was a catalyst for Eddie Howe’s season imploding. Pope was replaced by Martin Dubravka, a Slovakian international and one of the rare success stories to emerge from Mike Ashley’s reign of austerity on Tyneside.
Identified by Rafa Benitez during the 2018 January transfer window, Dubravka arrived quietly on deadline day as a largely unknown quantity, signing on loan for €500k with an option to buy for an extra €4.5m.
His impact was almost immediate. He started his first game 11 days after arriving, a big game live on TV at home to Manchester United. Newcastle hadn’t won a home game since October, but they beat Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United 1-0 that day and Dubravka was man of the match.
