AFC Bournemouth are set to miss out on a potential loan deal for Freddie Woodman this summer, with the 24-year-old on standby to start the season as Newcastle's first-choice goalkeeper according to The Athletic's Chris Waugh.

A fortnight ago, it was reported that the Cherries and the Premier League side had successfully negotiated a deal for the shot-stopper to join the Vitality Stadium on a temporary spell.

However, Slovakian international Martin Dubravka has returned from the European Championships with a foot injury which is likely to rule him out of the start of the next domestic campaign.

The 32-year-old's usual competitor in the goalkeeping department Karl Darlow is also unavailable after recently being hospitalised with Covid-19 and with this, Steve Bruce is unlikely to send Woodman out on loan until both are match fit and ready to return to the first-team squad.

This is a blow to Scott Parker's Bournemouth side who have just lost goalkeeping veteran Asmir Begovic to Everton and face the prospect of having to start Mark Travers in goal, who has only had a very limited amount of playing time at the Vitality Stadium since joining as a teenager.

Travers spent a month on loan at Swindon Town in the second half of last season and would preferably be a new signing's understudy - but the club have also recently missed out on Bailey Peacock-Farrell who opted to join League One outfit Sheffield Wednesday yesterday.

The Verdict:

Considering the league season is just over a week away, they cannot afford to be in limbo with this situation despite Woodman's quality performances at the Liberty Stadium during the last campaign. It's clear they need a new keeper in now.

This is why they should be actively pursuing other targets to avoid having this crisis in the goalkeeping department at the start of the season - and considering how delicate this position is with the likelihood of costly errors and the ability to decide games with match-winning saves - it's an area they should have addressed ages ago.

Many people would have predicted Begovic's departure with his Premier League wages and the Cherries' failure to gain promotion, so whoever comes in has big boots to fill as they take the number one jersey on the south coast.

And this new arrival will already be at a disadvantage after coming in without a full pre-season at Bournemouth under their belt, little time to get to know his teammates before they go into battle together and a limited idea of how Scott Parker wants to play.

But this will be the least of the Championship side's worries at this moment in time, they will just be desperate to bring in a new stopper regardless and someone who will be a reliable figure in the second tier throughout the season.