Martin Dúbravka is determined to be part of the ‘new’ Newcastle United amid the emergence of reports linking other goalkeepers to the Tyneside club.
The Magpies now have the richest owners in football after being acquired by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund last month.
As a part of the rebuild, the new owners have already sacked Steve Bruce and appointed Eddie Howe as his successor.
They also plan to build a competitive squad and Barcelona’s Marc-André ter Stegen and Paris Saint-Germain’s Keylor Navas have been named as goalkeeper targets.
Dúbravka has not only responded to these links, but has also sent a message to the current crop of players at St James’ Park.
“Wherever I worked, I had to fight for my position. Whether it was in the Czech Republic, Denmark or Slovakia. From my point of view, nothing changes. I’ve always had to show myself in the best possible light,” he said, as quoted by Sport.sk.
“At the moment, I’m just thinking about being in good health and getting to the goal as soon as possible. I believe that in the future I will be part of the ‘new’ Newcastle, which has great goals and ambitions.”
The Slovakia international also revealed Newcastle’s new owners and management have already detailed their immediate plans to him and his teammates.
“The leadership came to us and gave us a lot of support. They presented us with some short-term plans and I can reveal that they are going to rebuild the training centre, which is the first goal for now. Of course, there should be some reinforcements in January,” the keeper explained.
“It was positive for me that they came to us and said, frankly, how things are. It is positive for me that they communicate with us every day and they are also often in the training centre.”
The 32-year-old missed the first half of last season due to a foot injury. He suffered another setback in July and regained full fitness in September, but is still waiting to make his first appearance of this campaign.
Dúbravka could be provided a new opportunity after Howe’s arrival and on the former AFC Bournemouth manager, the custodian said: “I have a positive view of Howe because I had the opportunity to play several games against Bournemouth and his team has always presented itself in combination football.
“He is a modern type of coach and Bournemouth, a relatively smaller club, not only managed to get into the Premier League, but also keep them there for a long time on a low budget, which is also a certain indicator.”
