Eddie Howe's Newcastle United farewell message for Federico Fernandez

Dubravka was loaned to Manchester United yesterday, while Federico Fernandez left Newcastle United and joined Elche in Spain on a permanent deal. They both joined the club in 2018 when Rafa Benitez was manager, and Howe has paid tribute to the contributions they made to the club following their departures.

Between them, Dubravka and Fernandez, both 33, made 219 appearances for the club, and their departures have left Howe with just enough senior players to fill his 25-man Premier League squad following the loss of Emil Krafth to a long-term injury.

“Both have given great service to the football club,” said United’s head coach. “Now Martin’s obviously still our player, he’s on loan.

"Fede – what an incredible professional, great guy. I can’t speak highly enough of him and his contribution to the football club over many years. Unfortunately for us, he picked up a couple of injuries, so we didn’t get to see a lot of him on the pitch, but, behind the scenes, he’s been incredible for us – and he goes with our best wishes.

"It’s the same with Martin, we didn’t want to lose him, but you have to understand and respect the player's wishes as well, and hopefully, we’ve come to a situation that suits him. We have to move on without.”

Newcastle have a January recall option on Dubravka, who was signed by Erik Ten Hag to challenge David de Gea for a place in his team.