How Nick Pope will improve Newcastle United
The Toon have snapped up Nick Pope on a cut price deal after his relegation with Burnley.
Newcastle United have announced the signing of Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope in a deal rumoured to be worth £10m.
The England international, who was relegated with Burnley in May despite his impressive form, will become Newcastle’s second summer signing after Matt Targett joined on a permanent deal earlier this month.
There were a number of goalkeepers linked with the club already this summer, as Eddie Howe looked to bring in a contender for Martin Dubravka’s number one spot.
Howe’s style of play demands a goalkeeper comfortable on the ball and despite Dubravka’s excellent shot stopping, his distribution and ability on the ball is a key area for improvement in his Newcastle side.
Pope’s stats show that he fits the profile of a sweeper keeper that The Magpies have been looking for.
In contrast to Dubravka, Pope is not afraid to play as a sweeper keeper and leave his line to clear danger, with him ranking in the top 96% of Premier League goalkeepers last season for ‘Number of Defensive Actions Outside of the Penalty Area per 90’, averaging 1.75 every 90 minutes.
Nick Pope’s (left) and Martin Dubravka’s (right) 2021/22 Premier League stats.
This is increasingly impressive when compared to Dubravka’s ranking, all the way down in the bottom 17% of Premier League goalkeepers, clearly highlighting that area of the team Howe is aiming to improve.
Despite Pope’s passing stats not being amongst the best in the league, attempting more and completing less launched passes (over 40 yards) than Dubravka, however this is more of a reflection of Burnley’s playing style rather than a weak point in his game.
In the Premier League last season, The Clarets attempted the third least amount of short passes (between 5 and 15 yards) compared to the fifth most attempted long passes (over 30 yards).
Number of attempted short passes from each team during the Premier League 2021/22 season.
Number of attempted long
passes from each team during the Premier League 2021/22 season.
Over the course of the 2021/22 Premier League season, Burnley goalkeepers averaged a pass length of 53 yards compared to Newcastle keepers under Howe averaging 39 yards per pass.
The difference in approaches is evident but under Howe’s guidance, Pope should manage to successfully adapt to the former Bournemouth manager’s style of play.
When comparing Premier League goalkeepers using ‘Distance from Goal of sweeping actions’ and 'Sweeping actions per 90’, Pope is in very good company at the top, alongside one of the world’s best in his position - Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson.
The gulf in sweeping ability between Dubravka (black) and Pope (red) is evident.
As well as Pope’s impressive sweeping ability, he also excels when it comes to shot stopping. The 30-year-old had the fifth highest save percentage in the Premier League last year with 73.6%, only ranking behind Jose Sa, David Raya, Alisson and Edouard Mendy.
Pope is in superb company at the top end of the list.
These stats and figures emphasise how sensible this deal is, for being the richest club in the world, The Magpies are certainly going about their business smartly and Pope looks like another shrewd signing in the club’s new era.
His addition means Howe has added another piece to his Newcastle United puzzle and with two months still to go in the transfer window, things are only getting started for the Toon Army.