Ewen Jaouen's Newcastle role clarified with £24m move agreed

Newcastle United looks to have won the race to sign French goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen as a £24m deal has been agreed.

Ewen Jaouen has been linked to Newcastle for a while now, and after a few false starts from the French media, it now looks as though the 20-year-old is finally on his way to Tyneside.

Newcastle have reportedly beaten off competition from Real Madrid and other sides in France for the Stade Reims goalkeeper, who is already being touted as a future No.1 for France.

The Chronicle's Lee Ryder has posted on X that Jaouen is expected on Tyneside next week to finalise the deal.

Newcastle still looking for another goalkeeper?

The Chronicle reports that Ewen Jaouen is expected to come in and challenge a senior goalkeeper for a starting spot - rather than arrive as a guaranteed No.1 heading into the 2026/27 campaign.

Nick Pope has been linked with a move to Leeds United, while Aaron Ramsdale has returned to Southampton following a loan spell. John Ruddy and Max Thompson are also leaving the club once their contracts expire this month.

So, unless Newcastle manages to find another senior goalkeeper, we could be heading for another season with Nick Pope as No.1, with 20-year-old Jaouen playing a supporting role - unless Pope is sold and replaced in the coming months.

That being said, part of our pitch to Jaouen included assurances that he will be given a chance to impress on the big stage, albeit as competition for a place in Howe's starting lineup, rather than a shoo-in.

Newcastle could still have Nick Pope as No.1 next season

It sounds like our feeling was right: that Jaouen isn't expected to take over from Nick Pope immediately.

We still expect Newcastle to look for another senior goalkeeper, with James Trafford and Robin Risser strongly linked Newcastle as options to replace Nick Pope.

Should Newcastle fail to land one of those targets, or others they may have an eye on that we aren't yet aware of, then Nick Pope could remain as Newcastle's No.1 for another season, in which case, we'd expect that Ewen Jaouen could find himself closer to the starting lineup than maybe even he is expecting.