Martin Dubravka's future, naturally, was a prominent topic of Eddie Howe's pre-match press conference before the weekend trip to Tottenham Hotspur - and the Newcastle United chief may have dropped the clearest hint yet that the Slovakian stopper is eyeing the exit door this month.

Speaking to reporters at the club's Benton base, Howe insisted he doesn't want current No 1 Dubravka to leave this month. However, that was swiftly followed up with an admission that sometimes you have to 'respect' the wishes of your players...

“The situation with Martin is we would not want him to leave, but you also have to respect and understand the player’s wishes in this," Howe said. "It’s not as clear cut as people think.

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“Martin’s out of contract in the summer so you have to add that to the mix. It’s all hypothetical. Martin has been outstanding and professional, he didn’t have much football before he came into the team and he has done brilliantly.”

Howe struck a similar tone when discussing the exits of Jonjo Shelvey and Chris Wood in January 2023. At the time Newcastle were struggling with injuries and fighting for a spot in Europe but both players made their feelings clear that respective moves to Nottingham Forest made sense at that point in their careers.

In any ordinary circumstances - or had this interest from Saudi side Al-Shabab arrived in the summer - Dubravka would likely depart for one last challenge before his 36th birthday this month. Especially given the fact Newcastle currently five senior stoppers on the books.

However, Dubravka has deputised expertly in the absence of Nick Pope, who continues to recover from a knee issue. That, coupled with the fact the veteran goalkeeper is a free agent in the summer, and the situation is far from straight forward.

Dubravka has impressed since returning to the first-team fold, keeping four consecutive clean sheets of late. However, it is his ability with the ball at his feet that has impressed on-lookers from the stands.

"Martin's always been very good with his feet. I think that's one of his biggest strengths," Howe continued, before adding: "Martin's played his part in that respect really well in terms of helping us have control, especially when you go to Old Trafford.

"That's a big part of the game that we tried to focus on, and I thought he did give us that ability to play and to build our attacks and to make it difficult for them to get to our centre-backs from the pressing viewpoint."

Dubravka blasted transfer questions over his future while at the Euros over the summer, insisting he 'did not care' about speculation regarding his St James' Park status. Now, his transfer stance is front and centre on Tyneside once more as Howe plots how to navigate this month with an ageing player who may fancy one last payday abroad.