Story byMartin Dubravka couldn’t believe Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe dropped him days after convincing him to sign new dealSportsViewSat, December 6, 2025 at 8:25 AM UTC·3 min readFormer Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka has revealed he was left fuming with manager Eddie Howe during his final weeks at the St James’ Park club. The Slovakia international left Newcastle for Burnley in the summer after seven years with the Magpies but was close to leaving heading into January 2025. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAn offer came in from Saudi Pro League club Al-Shabab for Dubravka in December 2024, when he was in the final year of his contract. While Howe had initially agreed to let Dubravka leave, a knee injury to Newcastle first-choice goalie Nick Pope changed the plans. The Magpies then agreed that he should wait until after the Carabao Cup semi-final against Arsenal on January 7 before leaving, and he headed to London with his family having already vacated their house and prepared to head to Saudi. However, Howe convinced him to stay beyond the winter transfer window, only to drop him from the starting XI a few days after he signed a new deal. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I said bye to everyone and then I spoke to the gaffer to say goodbye and he told me he was going to give me a call the next day, so I was confused,” Dubravka told The Times.“I was going to travel to Riyadh the next day. When the gaffer called me he said it doesn’t really make sense to let you go because it’s a semi-final and Nick is not back. I said, ‘You said you would let me go.’ I was still in a hotel in London.
