Newcastle United is now just two points ahead of third from bottom Fulham and is in a fight for Premier League survival. They do have one game in hand over Fulham but on the present form, they are going to struggle to earn more points before the campaign ends. If they are relegated there will be lots of players leaving and the club will have to yet again rebuild.
One player who may be leaving no matter if Newcastle stays in the EPL is goalkeeper Karl Darlow. Even though the Magpies have had a bad season, Darlow has performed well and his form has even caught the eye of England manager Gareth Southgate.
There are several top clubs interested in Darlow so it may be worth looking for odds on him joining a team in the top 4 by finding champions league betting offers. His odds have recently been slashed for him getting the number one spot for England at the Euros but without having regular game time, it is going to be difficult for him to catch the manager’s eye.
At 30 years old he is in his prime years as a goalkeeper. The stats don’t lie and when he was in the first team at the start of the season, he was the top-performing keeper in the EPL. He has not earned an England cap yet, but it is certainly on the cards for the near future. Southgate may be tempted to get him in sooner rather than later as he qualifies to play for Wales also.
Darlow found himself in the team due to injury to number one choice Martin Dubravka. He has now returned and taken back the role of number one. Darlow has now been on the bench for the last month which is destroying his personal ambitions of being England’s number one.
With Jordan Pickford out injured, if Darlow was playing for Newcastle he would have to be picked as his stats are the best. He needs to be tested to see if he can handle the pressures of representing his national country, as many before him have failed to cope.
Darlow signed a new contract at the club at the start of the campaign which is for five years. He is not the type of person that will settle for being a bench-warming goalkeeper so will be looking at all options. Due to him having such a good season, Newcastle can cash in and reinvest the money in other parts of the team that need it.
Bruce seems to have lost faith in him and has been loyal to his number one keeper. The manager will be likely fired at the end of the campaign so it may be worth Darlow hanging around to see if he can impress the new boss.
If Darlow wants to become the number one England keeper he must move to find first-team football as it would be very sad to see yet another player not fulfill their potential.
