Report: There is a 'decent chance' that 'amazing' Newcastle player will ask to leave this summer

There will be plenty of players linked with moves to and from Newcastle United as we move ever closer to the transfer window opening, some will make more sense than others.

One that absolutely does make sense, is the potential exit of one of the club's biggest bargains in recent years.

Thankfully, I'm not talking about Fabian Schar, but Martin Dubravka. The Slovakian goalkeeper knows his place and that's enough for him to potentially push for a move.

Dubravka has played 18 times this season, which is about 18 more times than he probably expected to after falling to second-choice behind Nick Pope.

Sportimage via Alamy

Nick Pope replaced Dubravka as Newcastle's number one

The 36-year-old didn't take kindly to Pope's arrival in the summer before last, spitting his dummy out about sitting on the bench and forcing a move to Manchester United on loan to ... *checks notes* ... sit on the bench.

Dubravka did cut that loan short and return to the club, but it didn't do much to repair his reputation amongst the fans.

Likewise, this season where he's found himself in goal for 18 games thanks to Nick Pope picking up a shoulder injury, his performances on the whole haven't really repaired that rift. Although to give the man some credit, he has made some excellent saves and kept a few important clean sheets.

Dubravka's debut was a thing of beauty

However, Dubravka knows that when Pope returns to fitness he drops down the pecking order again. He's also probably aware that Eddie Howe is shopping for a new goalkeeper.

With that in mind then, it makes sense that The Athletic's Chris Waugh believes that Dubravka will probably move on this summer, as he revealed in a recent Q&A.

Dubravka made a banging start to life on Tyneside, coming out of nowhere to make his debut against Manchester United and doing a magnificent job of keeping them at bay. He's since gone on to make 158 appearances for the Magpies, keeping 46 clean sheets and being called 'amazing' by none other than Allan Saint-Maximin.

It's not a bad legacy to leave behind if we can all just block out that whole Man United thing - the loan deal, not the debut.