‘He is too big’: Jason Cundy says £10m Newcastle player is like ‘a giant oak’ and not good enough | OneFootball

Newcastle United are going through a bad spell and suffered a 4-2 defeat to Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday.

The Magpies were hoping to build on a 3-3 draw with Liverpool at St. James’ Park on Wednesday evening with a victory at the Gtech Community Stadium, but they failed to pick up even a point.

Newcastle conceded four goals and were defensively poor, leading club legend Alan Shearer to vent his frustration on social media.

One of the Newcastle players who had a bad game was Nick Pope. While the goalkeeper cannot be blamed for all the four goals that he conceded, he could have done better in the second half and almost let in a fifth.

Former Chelsea and Tottenham player Jason Cundy was not impressed with the display produced by Pope, who took 42 touches of the ball and has a pass accuracy of 70%, according to WhoScored.

The talkSPORT pundit does not think that the £10 million (Sky Sports) goalkeeper is good with his feet and has compared him to a giant oak.

Newcastle United goalkeeper Nick Pope criticised after Brentford match

Cundy said about Pope on talkSPORT (5:51pm, December 7, 2024): “I am not sure about Nick Pope. I think Nick Pope has been a great acquisition for where you were to where you want to be. I am not sure long term he is going to be good enough.”

Cundy added about Pope (7:23pm): “I am not impressed with Pope. I just feel that he is too big. He is like a giant oak. Oaks take a long time to fall.”

The pundit continued: “He can’t collapse quick enough, mate. He is too big. Brilliant shot-stopper, not convinced with the ball at his feet. He looks like a giant oak with the ball at his feet. Shot-stopping, catching, all of that – brilliant.”

Newcastle already looking at potential Nick Pope replacement

Pope is the number one goalkeeper for Newcastle. The 32-year-old England international has played 15 times in the Premier League and twice in the League Cup this season.

During the 2023-24 campaign, Pope made 15 appearances in the Premier League and five in the UEFA Champions League, while in 2022-23, he featured in 37 league games.

However, there have been one or two signs lately that Newcastle are looking to move on from Pope.

In November, The Athletic reported that Newcastle could move for Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford in the January transfer window.

With Odysseas Vlachodimos and Martin Dubravka also options for manager Eddie Howe in goal, Newcastle’s reported interest in Trafford is an indication that they are not fully happy with the goalkeepers they have in their squad at the moment.