Craig Hope confirms Newcastle United's interest in Premier League goalkeeper but says he could cost upwards of £40m
There's a strong feeling around Newcastle United right now that a new, reliable goalkeeper is required in the summer after Nick Pope dropped another clanger last week.
Pope's error was so costly that the former England international lost his place in the starting lineup to on-loan Aaron Ramsdale on Wednesday night.
However, it's still expected that Ramsdale will return to Southampton at the end of the season with Newcastle set to look elsewhere to solve their goalkeeping issues.
Ramsdale pulled off some world-class saves against Manchester United on Wednesday, but the ex-Arsenal man has kept only one clean sheet for the Magpies in 15 games this season.
Craig Hope confirms interest in Bart Verbruggen
Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen has recently been linked with Newcastle and in his Q&A for the Daily Mail, Craig Hope has confirmed there is an interest from the Toon, but says there is a big issue.
"Yes, Newcastle really like Verbruggen. But there is a but… and that is he plays for Brighton, who are notoriously strong negotiators and would demand a significant fee in excess of £40m.
There would also be competition, and Newcastle do not want to get drawn into a transfer tussle that extends way into the summer.
"So while there is definite interest in Verbruggen, it comes with an asterisk, is what I’m told."
Newcastle still hold an interest in Gregor Kobel of Dortmund
Hope also mentions that there's interest in Borussia Dortmund's Gregor Kobel, who they see as a low-risk signing given his international and Champions League experience.
We could certainly do a lot worse than Verbruggen or Kobel, so it feels like we're looking in the right areas.
There was no mention of James Trafford by Craig Hope, but given his situation at Manchester City, we'd be shocked if we don't at least throw another glance his way this summer.
