Newcastle United ‘eye’ League One starlet as ex-ref delivers verdict on controversial Wolves incident

Here, we round-up all the latest stories that have emerged surrounding Newcastle United:

Dermot Gallagher on Nick Pope incident

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes Newcastle were lucky not to concede a penalty after Nick Pope’s coming together with Raul Jimenez during the first-half of Sunday’s game. The incident in question came after Pope’s poor touch allowed the Mexican to nick the ball before the pair collided - something that Gallagher believes should have resulted in a penalty for the visitors.

“I think it’s a foul.” Gallagher told Sky Sports’ Ref Watch. “For me, Pope misjudges the ball, Jimenez nicks the ball off him and I think Pope leans into him and all he’s going to do is impede him, I think he does that and it’s a penalty.

“The argument [for a red card] is where is the ball, where is his [Jimenez’s] direction of travel. What I would say is that it’s a penalty.”

He continued: “As it happens, you quite clearly see Andy Madley wave it away and say ‘no, I’m not interested’. If you look at the assistant, he looks straight at the referee and whether they’re speaking on comms saying ‘this is what I’ve seen’ and fed back to the referee.

“But Andy Madley has made it quite clear that he doesn’t think it’s a foul and if he relays to the VAR what he’s seen and that he feels Jimenez has gone into Pope, rather than the other way around, then VAR have to decide if it’s a clear and obvious error. And obviously they didn’t feel that.”

Newcastle United ‘interested’ in Fleetwood Town starlet

According to the Sun, Newcastle United are ‘keen’ on signing Fleetwood Town goalkeeper Stephen McMullan this summer. The report suggests that the stopper is on Newcastle’s radar this summer, but they could face a ‘bidding war’ for the youngster.

McMullan hasn’t made a senior appearance for his club, but signed his first professional deal at Highbury Stadium earlier this season. McMullan has represented both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland at youth level.