Paul Merson believes our £10m move for Burnley’s Nick Pope is a brilliant piece of business, feeling we’ve landed ourselves a real bargain.
The Sky Sports pundit reckons this is the second best signing of the summer so far – only Yves Bissouma’s £25m move to Spurs was ranked higher – and has praised the deals Eddie Howe has pursued so far.
The 30-year-old impressed heavily for Burnley, ranking third for most clean sheets in the last three seasons, and has been labelled a “top, top goalkeeper” by Merson.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, here’s what Merson said:
“Nick Pope is a top goalkeeper, it’s ridiculous that Newcastle United got a player of his calibre for as little as £10 million.
“If Jordan Pickford hadn’t done so well for Everton at the business end of last season, you could’ve argued that there is much between him and Pope – that’s how good a player the former Burnley man is.
“Eddie Howe is looking to build a team that can compete in the Premier League. It could take them five to six years, but they are doing a steady job and not splashing £100 million on a player just for the sake of it – they are learning to walk before they can run.
“If they can get 10th place and probably win one of the domestic cups, that would be a fantastic season for Newcastle.
“Pope will save them points and is a top, top goalkeeper for their project.”
As someone who has often been critical of Newcastle, it is a breath of fresh air to hear such a positive outlook on the club from the ex-Arsenal man.
Pope will desperate to keep up his good form ahead of the World Cup and can hopefully give Newcastle fans a second England international to cheer on this winter.
Oh no! Not the old “clean Sheets” stat again.
His defence must be seriously pigged off every time that one’s dragged out.
Daveys **** mate(Quote)