Eddie Howe reveals view on key Newcastle United department

Dubravka, 33, has been the club’s first-choice goalkeeper since arriving from Sparta Prague, initially on loan, in 2018.

However, Howe has again been strongly linked with Manchester United’s Dean Henderson, and there are expected to be changes to the goalkeeping department in the summer.

There has also been speculation over the futures of Karl Darlow, Freddie Woodman and Mark Gillespie.

Darlow and Gillespie were in the club’s 25-man Premier League squad for the second half of the season, while Woodman – who started the season between the posts – was loaned to Bournemouth in January.

Asked about Dubravka’s form since his mid-season return from injury, Howe said: “I'm very happy with his performances. You look back to the Liverpool game recently. Without him, the performance wasn't particularly good, in my opinion, and the result would have been very different, and he kept a clean sheet (against Arsenal).

“With Martin, when we first arrived, he'd just returned from injury, so there was an element of rustiness in is game where he hadn't played, understandably. But he's steadily improved.

“I really, really like him as a lad and as a goalkeeper, and, with Karl, I think we've got a very strong goalkeeping team.”

Howe last week denied a report that a move for Henderson was “99% done”. United’s head coach said: “We’re not close to signing anyone at this moment in time. That’s far from the truth.”