Newcastle United have confirmed the signing of goalkeeper Nick Pope for £12 million.
Pope, who joined from Burnley, signed a four-year deal after joining Eddie Howe’s side.
The England goalkeeper enjoyed six years at Turf Moor and established himself as a highly-rated shot-stopper in the Premier League. But after Burnley were relegated last season, Pope sought to move to another Premier League side to keep his chance of playing in the World Cup alive.
Newcastle added Pope to their ranks to provide competition for current number one Martin Dubravka.
After the deal was officially confirmed, Magpies boss Eddie Howe spoke highly of the goalkeeper.
“Nick is an exceptional Premier League and international level goalkeeper”, he said.
“So I’m very pleased to be adding strong competition to a very important position.
“There has been a lot of interest in him from other clubs this summer, so I’d like to thank our owners and everyone behind the scenes for getting us ahead of the competition. I’m delighted he is joining us as we prepare for the exciting challenge ahead.”
The goalkeeper was also pleased to have signed for Newcastle, saying to the club’s official website: “Now I’m here, I can’t wait to get started. “The deal has taken a couple of weeks to come to fruition, but it got over the line really quickly, and I’m delighted to be here, and I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into it.”
Pope was a constant presence for Burnley and made over 100 Premier League appearances. He has also been on the fringes of the England setup, playing eight games across the past four years.
The 30-year-old is the second summer signing for Newcastle after the capture of full-back Matt Targett from Aston Villa. The experienced goalkeeper will be a key presence in goal for a Newcastle side that finished last season with a goal difference of -18.
