Newcastle have triggered Lukáš Horníček’s £25.7m release clause and completed the goalkeeper’s medical in Spain. The deal was pushed through after talks cranked up from Wednesday onwards, and it has been sanctioned by new boss Matthias Jaissle. It is being framed as the first major signing of the Jaissle era, although some reports have described the move differently.

The fee and the timing

The fee is the headline part of this move. Newcastle are paying £25.7m to get the deal done, which puts Hornicek well beyond the category of a stopgap signing. He is coming from SC Braga after 88 first-team appearances, and he also kept 24 clean sheets across all competitions in 2024/25.

There is still a small wrinkle in the reporting around the move itself. Some outlets have called it completed, others have said it is close to completion or on the verge, and the same split has appeared around whether this is Newcastle’s first Jaissle signing or simply one of the club’s summer additions. What is not in doubt is that the talks accelerated from Wednesday and the medical in Spain has already been done.

What it means for Nick Pope

The move leaves a serious question mark over Nick Pope’s future after he was given the number 1 shirt at the start of pre-season. Newcastle are not being pushed into this by short-term panic, either. A goalkeeper with 88 Braga games and 24 clean sheets looks like someone brought in for a genuine first-choice role, even if nobody at the club is saying that publicly.

Braga president Antonio Salvador said the goalkeeper had already rejected interest from England before this deal went through. He told chroniclelive.co.uk: "We even had [a concrete approach for a transfer], but the player himself, Hornicek, refused". Salvador also said: "There was an offer from England for him, for the Premier League, but the player felt he shouldn't go to that club and we are happy that he's staying here."

That tells its own story. Newcastle have not just found a goalkeeper who was available, they have paid a sizeable release clause for one who was already on the radar elsewhere and still chose his next move carefully. The final paperwork now appears to be a formality, with the transfer pushing on after the medical in Spain and the talks that gathered pace from Wednesday.

The next step is the official announcement from Newcastle, which should confirm how the club are presenting the move and whether Hornicek is arriving as the long-term answer in goal or the first piece of a wider reshuffle.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 5 outlets. How we work →