8 Newcastle United Players Fighting For New Contracts

3. Jak Alnwick

Before he was called into action as a half-time substitute against Chelsea in December last year, Jak Alnwick had never made a Newcastle United appearance. In fact, the former England Under-18 goalkeeper had only every made nine first-team appearances in all - and they were for Gateshead in the Conference way back in 2011. With both Tim Krul and Rob Elliot injured, Alnwick was thrust to the fore against Chelsea - but his following seven appearances were not exactly inspiring. It is perhaps unfair to judge Alnwick based on eight performances when he did not expect to be in the team, but the club's management seemed to quickly lose confidence in his abilities. Alnwick was loaned to League One Bradford City in March but was dropped to the bench after just one game, and the 21-year-old Hexham-born stopper surely has no future at St James' Park. Verdict: Less than 5% chance of being offered a new deal. The arrival of Darlow should see Alnwick leave the club.