The summer window should heat up now that the PSR deadline has passed. Newcastle United should be able to spend some money and improve in key positions. However, they have managed to strengthen their goalkeeping department in recent days.
Odysseas Vlachodimos has signed from Nottingham Forest and it was a deal agreed during the talks over Elliot Anderson’s departure. That was quickly followed by the announcement that John Ruddy had signed on a free transfer, just days after his Birmingham City contract expired.
Eddie Howe now has a stacked goalkeeping department with five players with senior experience. Nick Pope is currently the number one. It is expected that Vlachodimos takes over the number two duties, while Ruddy will be an experienced number three.
This leaves Mark Gillespie as an emergency back-up, giving Howe four goalkeepers in training, which could be useful for small-sided games. Martin Dubravka remains at the club and despite playing a number of games deputising for Pope, it is expected that he leaves this summer. Celtic have been rumoured as a possible destination for him.
Are we now stronger than last season?
That is the question being asked by many on social media and it is a fair one. Earlier in the window, Giorgi Mamardashvili and James Trafford were both linked with a move to St James’ Park. The former would have been seen as a genuine threat for the number one shirt, while the latter would have been a development project for the club.
The two signings in goal seemingly came out of nowhere. Vlachodimos was likely an opportunistic signing that came out of the Anderson talks. It is unlikely that he was a summer target. However, it is easy to see why the club were happy to take him. He is an experienced Greek international, who has played hundreds of games in European football. This included Champions League quarter finals as recently as 2023.
Vlachodimos is a very good shot stopper, as shown by his advanced metrics at Benfica. During his time there, his goals prevented was +24.6, which underlines how much value he added between the sticks. This is based on an average shot stopper, so you can surmise that the Greek international excels in this part of his game.
The main concerns are the same ones we had about Martin Dubravka. At times, he can be too negative as a goalkeeper with the positions he takes up, while he prefers to punch rather than catch. However, his experience at the top of the game and his shot stopping should make him a very good number two.
Meanwhile, John Ruddy has played 87 times across the last two Championship seasons. Unlike Loris Karius, he has recent experience as a number one and that should be seen as a positive. His biggest strength is his aerial presence as he stopped 11.6% of crosses last season. This places him in the 97th percentile among goalkeepers.
As you would expect at his age, his shot stopping isn’t what it once was, but his goals prevented was -0.8 across the last two seasons. This suggests he is seen as an average shot stopper at Championship level. For a third choice keeper, it is easy to see why the club have opted for him.
What does this mean for the goalkeeping department?
After the links to Mamardashvili and Trafford, it was thought that there was immediate concern about Nick Pope’s shoulder. Both would have been good enough to challenge and perhaps displace the England international.
However, it is difficult to believe that either Vlachodimos or Ruddy would be able to. If there is no more movement, the club must have a strong belief that Pope’s shoulder is robust enough for a full campaign. Perhaps the lack of European football played a part in that decision.
Either that, or there is a possibility that Nick Pope could be available for transfer and we may look to completely overhaul the goalkeeping department.
That feels unlikely, but it is certainly not beyond the realms of possibility.
