Eddie Howe drops new deal hint - January U-turn almost complete?

Newcastle United secured our place in the FA Cup fourth round with a win against Bromley, but after the game attention swiftly turned back to transfer rumours.

Although there’s not been too much activity so far, there’s still a lot going on behind the scenes and Eddie Howe is once again having to answer the media’s burning questions.

Howe drops new Dubravka hint 

One player in particular whose future remains up in the air is Martin Dubravka, who looked to have said his goodbyes to the Newcastle crowd against Arsenal with a move to Saudi Arabia in the works.

However, with a move for James Trafford seemingly put off until the summer and Nick Pope still out, Howe is unwilling to let go of the Slovakian so easily having watched out for improve dramatically with him in goal.

The boss claimed that the two of them have had conversations about his future and that he is hopeful that the 35-year-old would even sign a new contract with his current one expiring in the summer.

After the Bromley game,  Howe said: “Touchwood I hope he will stay and I don't think that will change.

"We've had discussions, of course, about his future, but I think we're very relaxed. He's never said he's wanted to leave.

"He's enjoying being in the team, he's enjoying the moment the team's in. So I don't expect any major announcement."

"I hope he'll stay and hope, potentially, that we can agree a new contract - but that's not something I'm dealing with currently."

Newcastle must become better sellers

While Newcastle’s form has seen a big turnaround since the change of goalkeeper, Dubravka has rarely been tested by the opposition and as we saw last season when Pope was injured his shot-stopping leaves a lot to be desired.

Yes, the improved distribution is obviously a big factor, but like we did with Miguel Almiron we don’t want to make the mistake of allowing someone to sign a new deal only for their form to completely change and be unable to move them on.

No one is suggesting we must sell him now , but at his age it feels like the right time to either sell now for a very small fee or allow him to see out the rest of the season before leaving for free in the summer.