It is truthful to say that the signing of Nick Pope shocked some Newcastle United followers.

Why are we shopping for one other goalkeeper after we have already got an excellent one in Martin Dubravka?

Nicely, it is truthful to say that ten weeks later, all of us now perceive. Or a minimum of it ought to.

Nick Pope has been distinctive. Nothing flashy, simply proceed along with his job, you already know, that job of stopping the ball from crossing that line.

That is what the Premier League desk appears to be like like this Monday morning:

Sure, Nick Pope and Newcastle United have conceded fewer targets than every other Premier League membership.

The truth is, minus 5 targets conceded in opposition to final season’s prime two golf equipment (Man Metropolis and Liverpool), Nick Pope has conceded simply 4 targets within the different 12+ hours of Premier League soccer.

No PL goalkeeper has greater than Nick Pope’s 4 clear sheets thus far this season.

Which brings me to this…

Now, attending to 50 LP clear sheets is an achievement for anybody, BUT for Nick Pope, that is particularly wonderful.

Enjoying within the decrease leagues, it wasn’t actually till 2017, when he was 25, that Nick Pope first performed within the Premier League.

Then you need to have in mind that Pope has performed all however ten of these video games for Burnley, who have been all the time in opposition to.

Regardless of that, Nick Pope has reached 50 clear sheets in simply 150 PL begins! That is proper, Outdated Trafford on Sunday was his one hundred and fiftieth begin within the POL and his fiftieth clear sheet within the first tier. Superb. Let that sink in, each third PL recreation he begins Nick Pope would not let in any targets, plus, as I say, that had largely been enjoying for relegation-threatened Burnley. It positively helps clarify why, even once they have been relegated final season, Burnley nonetheless had the Tenth-best defensive report in PL.

While you see the costs being paid for goalkeepers today, I nonetheless cannot fathom how Eddie Howe managed to purchase this England goalkeeper in his prime for simply £10m this summer season… unbelievable.

Clearly, it is not a solo effort this season on the again, as this defensive enchancment below Eddie Howe has been round for a while.

In 2022 within the Premier League, Newcastle United has a report of.

Performed 28 Gained 15 Drawn 7 Misplaced 6

52 factors at a mean of 1.86 factors per recreation

A giant a part of that report has been simply 28 targets conceded this calendar yr, Nick Pope got here in and joined a protection that rapidly improved AND made it even higher.

The truth is, in case you take away the 2022 dwelling and away video games in opposition to Man Metropolis and the time off at Spurs, within the different 25 NUFC Premier League video games in 2022, Newcastle have conceded simply 15 targets.

Whereas for anybody who claims that ridiculous quantities of cash have triggered this.

You’ve these six NUFC gamers costing round £54m: Pope (£10m), Dubravka (£4m), Schar (£3m), Burn (£13m), Trippier (£12m) and Targett (£12 million). Then the wonderful signing of 22-year-old Sven Botman for £35m, although he has solely began seven video games thus far.