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News
Eddie Howe says £35k-a-week Newcastle ace has been training so well
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe praised Paul Dummett ahead of the Magpies’ weekend Premier League match.
The Magpies boss said Dummett is a “very good player” who the club values “very highly” as a footballer and a person.
Dummett has spent his entire career on the books at Newcastle after coming through the ranks at the club.
However, the 31-year-old has barely featured this season. He has played in just one match, in the League Cup.
As per , Dummett is understood to have been fit since after the World Cup.
Despite this, he has been unable to find a way into Newcastle’s defence.
With Dummett’s contract expiring in the summer, it looked as though the Magpies would simply release him.
However, Howe has suggested that the £35,000-a-week defender () could be in line for a contract extension.
“Very much so (he could stay).” quotes Howe as saying ahead of the Arsenal game.
“I see Paul as part of our future.
“When you build a squad you are never going to be able to play everybody for the amount of time they want to.
“So you need players who are prepared to fight for their place, train well and have an effect on the group.
“Matt Ritchie, Paul Dummett, they are players who have not performed for the outside world, but internally they have been excellent for us.”
‘Hasn’t missed a day in a while’
Howe also likes how Dummett has been performing in training for the Magpies. The Newcastle boss says the player has been working hard and is in great shape.
“Paul’s been really good,” the official quotes him as saying. “Fitness-wise, it’s the best I’ve seen him.
He’s had a really consistent run of training and hasn’t missed a day in a while. And I think any player benefits from that consistency.
“He’s a very good player and I think the beauty of him is that he can play in a couple of positions for us, in left-back or centre-half. It’s great to have a player who has got that experience and ability.
“Yes, he hasn’t had that opportunity yet to get a run in the team because of the consistency of the other players but it’s someone we value very highly as a player, person and professional.”
Our view
It’s great to see Howe speak so highly of a player who has spent his entire career on the books at Newcastle.
Dummett has contributed so much for the Magpies over the years. It would be a shame to see him just leave at the end of the season.
Hopefully the left-back does get a new contract and remains a squad option and great dressing-room and training-ground influence on Tyneside.