More Praise For Dubravka – Completesports

Newcastle goalkeeper coach Simon Smith says Martin Dubravka deserves to be viewed amongst the Premier League’s elite. The Slovakian joined from Sparta Prague last January and was named North East Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year earlier this week after excelling in his first year on Tyneside.

After his initial loan was made permanent, the fee of around six million euros was dwarfed compared to those paid by the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea last summer.

However, despite some recent mishaps, Smith feels the 30-year-old belongs to be ranked alongside the likes of Alisson and Kepa Arrizabalaga due to his consistency in the Magpies goal.

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Smith told the ChronicleLive: “He has played so well and the expectation levels have gone up so much for him. No disrespect to Martin, but we paid six million euros for him. “You look at Liverpool, they paid over 60million euros for their goalkeeper Allison and Chelsea paid around 76million euros for their keeper. “Martin has shown that he is probably in the top six most consistent goalkeepers in the league and I think that is why there has been that attention on him. His consistency and his high standards are why we all trust him so much.”