Nick Pope could still leave Newcastle United beyond transfer deadline

Following the arrival of Lukas Hornicek and Ewen Jaouen this summer, Pope finds himself as Newcastle’s third-choice goalkeeper, having failed to feature in any of the club’s matches so far this season.

He was told he was free to leave Tyneside even before Jaissle was appointed as Eddie Howe’s successor, but proposed moves to Ipswich Town and Leeds United failed to materialise and a lack of deadline-day interest means Pope remained on Newcastle’s books when the domestic window swung shut earlier this week.

There are still countries where the transfer window reopens open though, most notably in Turkey, Greece and Saudi Arabia, and Newcastle’s recruitment team are working to try to engineer a deal that would enable Pope to head elsewhere to try to secure some game time.

“There are a couple of countries where there are still options that players can move to, but also we are really clear in our conversations,” said Jaissle, whose side return to action tomorrow when they host Bournemouth in a lunchtime kick-off.

“I had a clear conversation with Nick already a couple of weeks ago about his position here in the club. To make a move is not only a club decision - it's also a decision of the player, often also from an agent. There are many, many parts involved usually in deals, so we need to see.

“But for now, he’s a member of the squad, and as I have mentioned already, I really appreciate him and what he did for the club already, and how he's dealing with the situation right now.”

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Whereas there is clearly no way back for Pope, Jaissle was determined not to lose Joe Willock or Jacob Murphy on deadline day, two players who had also been heavily linked with a potential move away from St James’ Park earlier in the summer.

The Magpies rejected an offer of around £15m from Nottingham Forest for Murphy on deadline day, having already turned down a bid of around £17m from Turkish club Beskitas for Willock.

Both players have entered the final year of their respective deals with the Magpies, so financially, moving them on would have made a lot of sense. However, Jaissle values Murphy’s experience and leadership extremely highly, and has been hugely impressed with Willock’s impact in the ‘number ten’ position in the opening month of the season.

“We have a well-balanced squad,” said Jaissle. “The lads [Murphy and Willock] were doing good in pre-season. They showed their quality, they still have potential to do even better, and therefore we made the decision that this is the final squad.

“It’s not only these two players. In a long transfer window, there are many approaches for different players. It’s important you have conversations with the players, that you’re honest, transparent and clear about what you expect from them, but also what they expect from the club and the gaffer.

“We had these conversations. Everyone knows exactly where they are, at which stage they are in the squad, and then it was the decision that they stayed here.”

Lewis Hall is another player who could have left this summer, with Manchester United having made a number of inquiries about the England international.

Newcastle sold Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes, but were always adamant that Hall was going nowhere despite speculation that the full-back was potentially interested in a move to Old Trafford.

Given that they did not sign an alternative left-back, and therefore look extremely short in the position, there is every chance that Manchester United will make a renewed approach in January, but that is not a scenario that causes Jaissle any concern.

“For sure, he [Hall] will also have interest in winter, like many other players,” he said. “Every window there will be interest for players from us, definitely.

“We count on him. He's a huge, huge potential player. He’s already delivering on a high level, but we all know that there’s much more to come. And we are really excited that he is a part of that team, and hopefully also in the long term.”