The ` Sport star pays tribute to the signing of Newcastle United, who are at their best in European football

Phil McNulty is senior football writer at ` Sport.

He was now forced to acknowledge the undeniable truth.

Newcastle United have the best player at their position from all major European leagues.

The ` Sport man is pointing to clean sheets this season and Nick Pope alone tops the stats.

In 24 games (all competitions) for Newcastle United this season, Pope has kept a remarkable 16 clean sheets.

The next best in the major European leagues are:

14Barcelona

14 Man City

14 Royal Society

14 arsenal

14 man Utd

The fact that Nick Pope is now keeping ten straight clean sheets means he’s finally getting at least some of the recognition he’s deserved for his outstanding form this season, be it from ` Sport or wherever.

Also included in this series of ten clean sheets is the Crystal Palace Carabao Cup game, which ended in a shoot-out with Nick Pope keeping Newcastle in contention with an outstanding three saves from penalties.

It’s safe to say that NUFC wouldn’t now be on the brink of a potential Wembley Final if Eddie Howe hadn’t included Pope in that early round.

What irritates me is that Nick Pope wasn’t exactly an unknown.

Nick Pope had been active for England since 2018 and was in 39 matchday squads for the national team before his move to Newcastle United.

By the time he was actually on the pitch, the then Burnley goalkeeper had played eight games for England, conceding just one goal and helping Gareth Southgate’s team to eight of eight wins.

While Burnley were/are an unremarkable club, even in the Premier League, it certainly should have been noted that Nick Pope, capping an excellent run of seasons in goal for the Turf Moor club, helped them to the 10th lowest number of all goals conceded in last season despite being relegated.

Eddie Howe had a very decent keeper in Martin Dubravka BUT he had no doubts £10m for Nick Pope was an absolutely stunning bargain last summer.

After all, the media representatives catch up on this fact with some delay…

` Sport captain Phil McNulty now makes these observations:

“Newcastle United’s new era of wealth under their Saudi Arabian owners has brought renewed ambition and big spending – but the £10m handed over to Burnley for Nick Pope looks like a bargain.

More money may have been spent elsewhere but few signings offer better value for money than the 30-year-old England goalkeeper and he more than proved his worth as Newcastle closed in on the big trophy they have eluded since 1969 .

History weighs heavily on Newcastle and their fanatical support and since Mike sold Ashley great expectations have been added. They are now the clear favorites to reach the Carabao Cup final after Joelinton’s second-half goal gave them a narrow first-leg semi-final win at Southampton.

It’s been a long, agonizing wait since winning the Inter Cities’ Fairs Cup, but hopes are rising that the long, barren years are finally coming to an end judging by the Toon Army’s wild celebration scenes at the final whistle.

And at the heart of it all was the magnificent Pope and a vicious defense that refuses to back down, providing a rock-solid foundation for manager Eddie Howe’s rebuilding of Newcastle.

Pope’s shutout at Southampton, in which he made two crucial saves against substitute Che Adams with the goalless game, means he now has a remarkable record of 10 consecutive goals conceded in all competitions. According to Opta statistics dating back to August 2012, this makes him the first goalkeeper from a Premier League side to have accomplished such a feat.

He has kept 16 clean sheets in 24 games this season, a far better ratio than anyone else, with Manchester United’s David de Gea in second place with 12 games from 27.

Pope exudes confidence and confidence behind Newcastle’s defense and that is having an impact on opposing strikers as Adams wasn’t precise enough to hit the keeper’s outstretched left foot with Southampton’s best chance of the evening.

And to add to his impressive stats, Pope hasn’t conceded a single goal since Newcastle United’s last visit to St Mary’s on 6 November, which ended in a 4-1 win for the visitors.

Newcastle team-mate Bruno Guimaraes may have been dizzy from the heady smell of victory as he called Pope “the best goalkeeper in the world” in his post-match interview, but there’s no doubt he’s having a great season.

Pope was in England’s World Cup squad for Qatar, where he was third-choice behind Jordan Pickford and Aaron Ramsdale. Manager Gareth Southgate’s decision to continue will justifiably keep Pickford in pole position, but Pope is doing everything in his power to make his case.

When Howe was Bournemouth’s manager he was accused of failing to shore up their defense for all their attacking enterprise.

The same charges cannot be made now; As well as the players he’s inherited, a stellar defense is built around new signings Pope, Kieran Trippier, Sven Botman and Dan Burn.

This led to what could be a dream season, with an appearance at Wembley, their first appearance in a major final since the 1999 FA Cup, and their arrival in the upper reaches of the Premier League, where they are third behind leaders Arsenal and officiate Master Manchester City.

And if goals have dried up in recent weeks, Newcastle can still count on this defense, which is their worst in the top flight, having conceded just 11 goals in 20 games and conceding 14 goals in 26 games in all competitions.

On that platform Newcastle are thriving and they will be confident of finishing the job against Southampton in front of what is sure to be a fevered Tyneside crowd in the second leg.