Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka started the winter transfer window expecting to be sold to Al-Shabab - he will end it with a new contract with Eddie Howe's Magpies.

If anything the 36-year-old's situation shines a light on the fact that nothing is ever certain in the January trading period and that pleasant surprises can sometimes arise in football. Dubravka's rise back to the number 1 spot means he must be a serious contender for the Carabao Cup final if Newcastle can finish the job off against Arsenal.

All of it, a far cry from just two years ago when the black and whites had Nick Pope suspended and Dubravka cup-tied for the Wembley showpiece against Manchester United. When asked about Dubravka's future, with Pope fit again and the window still active until Monday, Howe said: "Martin won’t leave. We’re in discussions with Martin over a new contract, and hopefully there’ll be a swift conclusion there.

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"But he hasn’t sought any certainties on his place, or anything beyond trying to stay in the team and do well."

With Pope back now, Howe has refused to confirm who he sees as his number 1 choice between the posts. For now it seems that Dubravka is the holder of the gloves.

Howe responded: "Yeah, I understand the question and the intrigue into trying to get me to name a number one, but I've always said, even when Nick was playing regularly in goal, these things are always there to be changed by the performance of the players.

"You never really want to say, well, that's the player that plays in that position all the time, you want them to be challenged and asked questions by the players around them.

"So we've got healthy competition in there, we've got healthy competition in our back line, and hopefully that will serve us well."

Despite talk that Odysseas Vlachodimos could be sold this month, Howe stated he does not expect any further departures after Miguel Almiron. So going into the window the guidance now appears to be that Matt Targett, William Osula and Sean Longstaff are going nowhere.

Howe added on Friday morning: "As we stand now, currently I don't. But, yeah, things can change, but as we stand at the moment, I expect the squad to remain the same."