Newcastle United 'make contact' with La Liga star identified as 'top target'

Newcastle United have reportedly identified their top summer transfer target as they look to boost their goalkeeping ranks and provide further competition for Nick Pope.

The England international is now back in contention after returning to full training late last month following a severe shoulder injury he suffered in a 1-0 home win against Manchester United in December. There has been some talk suggesting Pope could return to Eddie Howe’s starting lineup for Wednesday night’s return fixture between the two sides and the Magpies boss assessed his fitness levels and chances of replacing Martin Dubravka in his pre-match press conference earlier this week.

He said: "Nick’s come back from a serious injury. This isn’t a minor problem he had, it’s a major problem to a big area of the body for a goalkeeper. Yes, he’s been back technically fit. But he’s still getting his rhythm back from the training work he’s doing, even now. I’ve been really pleased with how he’s looked, and he’s continued to improve through training, but in every game, I have decisions to make, and that will be one."

United’s goalkeeping department may well require some work during the summer transfer window with Loris Karius attracting interest from Serie A clubs as his current deal at St James Park prepares to come to an end. There have been reports Mark Gillespie has now penned a new one-year contract that will extend his time with Newcastle into a fifth season - although the former Motherwell goalkeeper has only made three senior appearances for the Magpies during that time. What is providing something of an unknown is Dubravka’s view on his own future as the Slovakia international enters into the final 12 months of his current contract.

With so much uncertainty, there have been reports suggesting the Magpies are considering moves for the likes of Arsenal star Aaron Ramsdale, Southampton veteran Alex McCarthy and Bayern Munich stopper Alexander Nubel. However, the latest report from Spanish outlet Marca has suggested the Magpies hierarchy have identified Valencia and Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili as their ‘top target’ and have already ‘made contact’ with the 23-year-old’s representatives.

Intriguingly, the report also states Valencia need to move a number of players on to free up finances to add to their squad and suggests an offer of around £32m could be enough to persuade the La Liga outfit to authorise a departure for their number one.