Soccer-Newcastle sign keeper Pope from Burnley

"Nick is an exceptional Premier League and international level goalkeeper so I'm very pleased to be adding strong competition to a very important position," Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said. Pope, capped eight times by England, will compete with Martin Dubravka for a place in the starting line-up.

Newcastle United have completed the signing of goalkeeper Nick Pope from Championship side Burnley on a four-year contract, the Premier League club said on Thursday. Newcastle reportedly paid a fee in the region of 10 million pounds ($12.23 million) for the 30-year-old, who had a year left on his contract at Turf Moor.

Pope, who joined Burnley in 2016, made 36 Premier League appearances and kept nine clean sheets last season but could not prevent his side from being relegated to the second tier after finishing 18th in the table. "Nick is an exceptional Premier League and international level goalkeeper so I'm very pleased to be adding strong competition to a very important position," Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said.

Pope, capped eight times by England, will compete with Martin Dubravka for a place in the starting line-up. Newcastle, who were acquired by a Saudi Arabia-led consortium in October, finished 11th last season.

($1 = 0.8175 pounds)