Newcastle United will reportedly sell either Karl Darlow or Loris Karius during the January transfer window, with the other goalkeeper staying put.

The Lowdown: Pope firmly first choice

The Magpies are flying at the minute, with Eddie Howe having a number of hugely important players at his disposal who have taken the team up a level.

Nick Pope is one of those after arriving from Burnley last summer, starting 19 times in the Premier League this season and becoming one of the first names on the team sheet, featuring for more top-flight minutes than anyone else at St James' Park in 2022/23.

Darlow and Karius have had to play second fiddle to the England international, and one of those two could be set to depart Tyneside in the near future.

The Latest: Darlow or Karius set to leave Newcastle

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Keith Downie claimed that one of the two 'keepers will leave Newcastle this month after Martin Dubravka was recalled from his loan spell at Manchester United.

The Sky Sports reporter said:

"There’s been no update on Karius when we’ve asked about him. One of them will stay. Either Darlow will go out and try and find regular football somewhere and they’ll keep Karius as the number three. Or Karius will be allowed to go and Darlow will just kind of be forced to be the number three.

"They’re not going to keep all three goalkeepers, one of them is going to leave. I think it depends on Darlow and whether he wants to go and play or if he’s content with being the number three goalkeeper."

[web_stories_embed url="https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/newcastle-news-7/" title="Newcastle news!" poster="" width="360" height="600" align=“none"]

The Verdict: Karius to move on?

It would arguably make more sense for Karius rather than Darlow to be the goalkeeper to depart Newcastle in January, with the German yet to make a single appearance for the club.

Question marks possibly remain over just how much his nightmare performance for Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final against Real Madrid has affected him, so it feels like a greater risk to keep hold of him rather than the 32-year-old.

By contrast, Darlow knows Newcastle inside out at this point, having racked up 100 appearances for the club across seven-and-a-half years, so he is arguably a more natural and reliable alternative to Pope, and Dubravka.

[freshpress-quiz id=“418867"]