Newcastle United's questionable £20m summer signing vows to fight for first-team place

We don't need to go over just how poor Newcastle United's summer transfer window was but when you remember that we spent £20 million on a goalkeeper we didn't even want, that should be all you need to know.

While there was a conscious need for a new goalkeeper in the summer, the club was looking at the likes of young hotshot keepers like Giorgi Mamardashvili and James Trafford, yet ended up with OAP John Ruddy on a free and then paying £20 million to Nottingham Forest for a goalkeeper deemed by them to be worse than Newcastle flop Matz Sels.

Odysseas Vlachodimos came to Newcastle as part of a PSR-busting quasi-swap deal with Forest for £20 million while Elliot Anderson went the other way for £35 million.

If there were any doubts about how little Newcastle wanted Vlachodimos, the Magpies immediately looked to move him on in the same window after an expected Martin Dubravka exit failed to materialise.

Newcastle are still looking for another goalkeeper because five isn't enough

Newcastle now have five first-team goalkeepers on the books and they still don't feel like they have the cover for Nick Pope that they want with reports linking Newcastle with another move for Burnley 'keeper James Trafford.

Despite all this, though, iNews are claiming that Odysseas Vlachodimos, who will be in goal for Greece tonight as they take on England, is determined to prove his worth to Eddie Howe and wants to push Nick Pope for that starting spot.

The report suggests that Ody is targeting the congested Christmas fixture list as his time to shine.

Odysseas Vlachodimos has looked decent when we've seen him

In fairness to Ody, in the very brief appearances he's made in a Newcastle shirt he's looked fairly solid, and he looked really good for Greece as they beat England last month.

He is Greece's first-choice 'keeper and had a good reputation at Benfica before his move to Nottingham Forest.

We paid £20 million for the bloke, why not give him a shot? Martin Dubravka failed his audition last season so why not try something new? We're not saying he should be in the team ahead of Pope but a place on the bench surely isn't beyond the realms of possibility?