Nick Pope top of Ipswich Town's transfer list as new manager ready to step in

Kieran McKenna stepped down as Ipswich Town boss recently, with Gary O'Neil set to replace him, but the changing of the guard hasn't affected the Tractor Boys' pursuit of Newcastle United goalkeeper Nick Pope.

Newcastle United are having a huge change in the goalkeeper department this summer, with three stoppers having already departed and one coming in.

Aaron Ramsdale returned to Southampton after his loan spell ended, while John Ruddy and Max Thompson's contracts weren't renewed, allowing them to leave the club too.

Newcastle have already brought in 20-year-old French goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen and are still looking for another keeper to come in to take the No. 1 spot.

Nick Pope is open to the move to Ipswich

Manchester City's James Trafford, Brighton's Bart Verbruggen and Robin Risser of Lens are the three names we've seen most often for this role, and if Ross Wilson is able to land one of these in the coming weeks, The Chronicle reports that Nick Pope is likely to be on the move.

Pope has been Eddie Howe's first-choice goalkeeper for four years, but his form has suffered recently, particularly after his bad shoulder injury.

Nick Pope grew up an Ipswich fan and is thought to be open to the move if Ipswich ultimately act on their interest. The managerial change isn't thought to have altered the plan, and the Tractor Boys are still likely to pursue the 34-year-old.

Newcastle are hoping to have two young keepers to choose between

Newcastle now look likely to have two top-quality, young goalkeepers competing for the starting role. Each of the three main targets is in their early 20s, which makes them babies in goalkeeper terms.

With Jaouen also just 20, Newcastle could be set in that position for a long time. Although the issue is keeping both happy. There will come a time when Jaouen feels he should be No. 1, and the competition will be good for both keepers for a while, before the one who is missing out inevitably asks to move on to find first-team football.

However, that is going to be a couple of years away, so we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. We will likely end up profiting from the sale of whichever keeper is moved on anyway, so really, it's a win-win.

As for Pope, he was an absolute bargain at £10 million, but we are all very aware of his flaws, and we need new blood now - someone who can play out from the back and still make decent saves.