Newcastle United<\/a> are now closing in on a deal for a “very intelligent” player, having held talks with his club and representatives.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Newcastle’s 2-0 defeat against Fulham summed up their season, with Alan Shearer<\/a> bemoaning the lack of “energy” and “hunger”, before going on to suggest manager Eddie Howe<\/a> needs to make wholesale changes to his squad this summer.<\/p>\n Shearer said: “I think that is clear now for everybody to see that Eddie [Howe] needs to refresh and ship six or seven out and get six or seven in.<\/em><\/p>\n “It is about wanting to improve and wanting to get a result when the club have had a really difficult season in the Premier League<\/a> and that is why they are where they are in the league at this moment in time and it has been so poor this season in the league.”<\/em><\/p>\n The loss at Craven Cottage condemned the Magpies to a 12th-placed finish in the Premier League, and they shipped 55 goals, with goalkeeper Nick Pope<\/a> receiving criticism for some of his performances.<\/p>\n Pope was used interchangeably with Aaron Ramsdale throughout the campaign, with Howe unable to settle on his preferred option between the sticks, and signing a new goalkeeper is now on the to-do list this summer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n According to a report from The Chronicle, Newcastle are now closing in on their first summer signings, having held talks with Reims regarding a deal for goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen<\/a>, who is valued at around \u20ac15m \u2013 \u20ac20m (\u00a313m – \u00a317m) by the Ligue 2 side.<\/p>\n Discussions have also been held with Jaouen’s representatives, and both parties are hopeful an agreement can be struck, although nothing has been finalised at this stage.<\/p>\n Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion remain in the running to sign the 6’6 colossus, who remains under contract with Reims until 2029.<\/p>\n Prior to signing for Reims, the 20-year-old spent time with fellow Ligue 2 side USL Dunkerque, and he received high praise from former manager Luis Castro<\/a>, who said: “He takes good shots in training. He\u2019s a good goalkeeper, very young, and he\u2019s developing well with our goalkeeping coach. He\u2019s better now than at the start of the season; he always listens to what we say, he\u2019s very intelligent.”<\/em><\/p>\n The youngster then went on to collect 15 clean sheets for Reims in the 2025-26 Ligue 2 campaign, which was more than any other goalkeeper in the French second tier.<\/p>\n Ewen Jaouen’s Ligue 2 stats<\/p>\n However, with Jaouen yet to prove himself in one of Europe’s major leagues, Newcastle may also need to sign a more experienced goalkeeper this summer.<\/p>\n Read next: Newcastle also keen on signing former Barcelona player<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n Alan Shearer urges Eddie Howe to rebuild this summer<\/strong>
\n <\/h2>\n\n Newcastle advancing to sign “very intelligent” player<\/strong>
\n <\/h2>\n![\"USL](\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/usl-dunkerque-s-ewen-jaouen-in-action.JPG?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2\"\/)
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