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Keeper Martin Dubravka will renew acquaintances with Manchester United on Monday having come in from the cold to play his part in Newcastle’s December revival.
The 35-year-old Slovakia international has conceded just one goal in four games and none in three Premier League outings since taking over from the injured Nick Pope earlier this month, and he will head for Old Trafford, where he had a loan spell during the 2022-23 campaign, looking for a fifth successive win.
Dubravka’s form, and in particular his distribution, has helped provide a solid foundation for the Magpies, and head coach Eddie Howe has been hugely impressed with the way a man who had made just one appearance for the club since May has slotted into the team.
Howe said: “I’m very pleased with Martin. It’s never easy to come in for a goalkeeper in any situation when you haven’t played for a while because it’s about rhythm and it’s about confidence, but Martin has picked it up from minute one.
“He’s distributed the ball really, really well – that’s been a huge thing in his game that’s always been there.
“Against Aston Villa (on Boxing Day), I think back to a number of aerial claims, catches that he’s taken under pressure – he’s dealt with that aspect really well too, so I’m really pleased with Martin.”
Dubravka has a history with Manchester United – he made his Newcastle debut in a 1-0 home win over the Red Devils in February 2018 and pulled off a vital save from Anthony Martial at 0-0.
He also picked up a Carabao Cup winners’ medal with them in 2023 after playing twice in the early rounds during his loan spell, although he had returned to St James’ Park by the time the final came around and would have lined up for the Magpies in that game had he not been cup-tied with Pope suspended.
Dubravka took all those experiences in his stride, and that comes as no surprise to Howe having seen how he goes about his work.
Asked what type of character his goalkeeper is, he said: “I’d say low maintenance, which is great from my perspective.
“He’s not someone that needs a massive amount of contact time from me. He works really, really hard with the goalkeeper coaches in his training.
“(Head of goalkeeping) Adam (Bartlett) and (first-team goalkeeper coach) Shwan (Jalal) care about all the goalkeepers that they have.
“Of course, they at times have to prioritise the work with the goalkeeper that’s playing, but I see Martin at his maximum level every day and because of that training and attitude, then when he does get to come into the team, he can hit the ground running as he has.”
