The Newcastle United goalkeeping ‘oddity’ laid bare in the Carabao Cup third round as Eddie Howe sends signal to Toon hierarchy

Odysseas Vlachodimos, Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall during the Carabao Cup third round
(Image credit: Future)

Eddie Howe described Newcastle United’s win over AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup third round as “instantly forgettable” to the press after the game. But 51,739 fans witnessed history.

The most expensive Newcastle United goalkeeper ever made his debut. A second-half substitute for the injured Martin Dubravka, Greek international keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos was signed by the club on June 30 for £20 million in one of the strangest, most questionable, transfers in the club’s history.

Newcastle, looking at a £60m hole in their accounting with 48 hours left in their financial year were set to breach PSR rules that state Premier League clubs cannot make a loss of more than £105m over a rolling three-year period. It would’ve meant a 10-point deduction in a season where qualification for Europe is non-negotiable.

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe hasn’t cut a happy figure this season

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Ketch joined FourFourTwo as Deputy Editor in 2022 having racked up appearances at Reach PLC as a Northern Football Editor and BBC Match of the Day magazine as their Digital Editor and Senior Writer. During that time he has interviewed the likes of Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero, Gareth Southgate and attended World Cup and Champions League finals. He co-hosts a ’90s football podcast called ‘Searching For Shineys’, is a Newcastle United season ticket holder and has an expensive passion for collecting classic football shirts.