Newcastle United will step up their search for a new goalkeeper, with Valencia’s Giorgi Mamardashvili a leading target.
The club have repeatedly watched the 23-year-old Georgian and the manager, Eddie Howe, is a big fan of the 6ft 6in goalkeeper.
Newcastle are keen to recruit a new goalkeeper in the summer who can challenge their first-choice No1, Nick Pope, 32.
They are aware of the spending limitations put on them by the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and know that Mamardashvili’s price is likely to be about £35million.
He has impressed throughout this season for Rubén Baraja’s side, and has missed only one of Valencia’s La Liga games.
Newcastle also hope to finalise the signing of Bournemouth’s Lloyd Kelly this week. The 25-year-old defender has informed Bournemouth of his decision to leave the club as a free agent.
Newcastle conceded 62 goals in the Premier League this season — more than Everton and Fulham, who finished in the bottom half — and Howe is determined to improve defensively next season. His priority is to sign a young goalkeeper to challenge Pope, who returned against Brentford on Sunday after missing 27 games because of a dislocated shoulder.
Martin Dubravka deputised for Pope but there is doubt over the 35-year-old’s future, with his contract set to run out at the end of next season.
Only three La Liga teams have conceded more goals than ninth-placed Valencia and it is thought that Mamardashvili, who moved to Spain in 2021 and was the club’s player of the season in 2023, is open to the possibility of moving to the Premier League.
The former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius, Newcastle’s No3, will also leave now that the campaign has finished. Newcastle have also discussed the possibility of moving for Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale, 26.
The Newcastle fourth-choice goalkeeper, Mark Gillespie, signed a new one-year contract last month.
Newcastle still do not know if they will play in Europe next season. If Manchester City beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday, Newcastle will play in next season’s Europa Conference League. But if United win, Erik ten Hag’s side will qualify for the Europa League, nudging Chelsea down into the Conference League at Newcastle’ expense.
Newcastle’s first game in Europe would be in August and Howe will need to strengthen the depth of his squad as well as the quality.
The club could not spend any money in January, despite their need in a campaign troubled with injuries to key players, because of PSR limits.
It is thought that they will spend significantly this summer, with players such as Miguel Almirón and Callum Wilson potentially exiting and adding to the budget at Howe’s disposal.
“That support and determination is there from the owners but the rules mean that those restrictions are placed upon us,” Howe said. “It’s a very difficult market to navigate. We can’t even predict what we are going to do, but the endeavour will be there to try and improve the squad.
“The whole way of trading players has changed [because of the spending rules]. The days of that kind of way of working [a transfer budget] are over, I think. It’s a case of being smart and reacting to what happens and trying to bring the right players with the right characteristics into the squad.”
