In the early morning of Tuesday (13th), Newcastle officially brought the big news: the signing of the 29-year-old free agent goalkeeper Kallios. The contract will last only four months, and the team will have a six-month option to extend it when it expires in January next year.
Kallios, the former Liverpool goalkeeper, returned to the team last season but rarely made an appearance. After his contract expired this summer, he left as a free agent, but he didn't expect Newcastle to lend a helping hand.
The German goalkeeper, known as the 'Gum Dragon', was in goal for Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final, but made two fatal mistakes that led to the team losing the title to Real Madrid. Since then, Liverpool no longer trust him and have loaned him out to Bisidas and Union Berlin. Upon his return last season, he was frozen out for the whole season until the end of his contract. Despite his lack of appearances, Liverpool met Real Madrid again in the Champions League final last season, and again lost, seemingly with some kind of destiny.
And that coincidence is that Newcastle's second-choice goalkeeper Dubafka was recently loaned out to Manchester United. The wealthy club were desperate for a goalkeeper to act as Nick Purby's deputy and leader Eddie Howe decided to sign him as he felt that Kallios, with his wealth of experience in the Premier League and Europe, might be able to help the team.
However, Newcastle are wary of Kallios' "glue" and have signed him on a 4-month deal to see how he performs. If all goes well, Kallios will only have to concentrate on training with Newcastle, and I believe he will have no problem as a substitute goalkeeper.
