Early career An
Ipswich Town season ticket holder, he began his career at the club's youth set-up at the age of 10 and remained with Ipswich until being released aged 16. Following his release by Ipswich, Having challenged and temporarily replaced Marcus Garnham, Pope proved he was capable at that level when he wore the number one shirt for Bury Town for a number of first-team matches after initially debuting for the team at just 16 years of age. Manager Richard Wilkins described Pope as "the most naturally-talented player to progress through the ranks at the
West Suffolk Sports Academy and Bury Town" and said "I honestly think Nick Pope can go all the way to the top." Pope was also a member of the
West Suffolk College squad and has represented an England Colleges squad.
Charlton Athletic On 24 May 2011,
League One club
Charlton Athletic signed Pope after he was spotted by scouts during a 2–1 win over
Billericay Town. He was then invited to a trial at Charlton. Charlton also paid for Pope to take a degree in
sports science at the
University of Roehampton alongside other courses which he had planned to take at the
University of Nottingham before being signed by Charlton. He made his Charlton and professional debut on 4 May 2013, in the last match of the 2012–13 season, as a 71st minute
substitute for
David Button in a 4–1 home win for Charlton against already
relegated Bristol City in the
Championship. Pope signed a new three-year contract with Charlton in September 2013, and commented that "It's a big club so to have a long-term future secure, for me, as a player developing, it's something you look for". On 5 June 2014, Pope signed a new four-year contract, securing his future to Charlton until June 2018.
Loan spells in 2014 In August 2011, Pope joined
Isthmian League Premier Division club
Harrow Borough on a
loan deal lasting until 17 September 2011. Whilst there Pope kept three
clean sheets and saved two penalty kicks in 19 appearances. As a result, he joined
Conference South club
Welling United on 21 December 2011 on a 28-day loan instead. He joined
League Two club
York City on 21 November 2013 on a one-month loan, but was recalled after only two matches by Charlton. On 16 January 2014, Pope rejoined York on loan for the rest of the
2013–14 season, keeping 16 clean sheets in 24 appearances. He made his debut in a 1–1 home draw with
Wycombe Wanderers on 17 January 2015.
Burnley 2016–2019: Cup keeper, first-team breakthrough, and injury On 19 July 2016, Pope joined newly promoted
Premier League club
Burnley on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He made his competitive debut in Burnley's shock 1–0 defeat to
Accrington Stanley in the
EFL Cup second round, with the winning goal coming from
Matty Pearson in the last minute of
extra time. He kept his first clean sheet for Burnley in their 0–0 draw at
Sunderland in the
FA Cup third round on 7 January 2017. He repeated the feat on his home debut, as Burnley won the replay 2–0. Pope made his Premier League debut on 10 September 2017, replacing the injured
Tom Heaton in the first half of a 1–0 home win over
Crystal Palace. He made his first Premier League start the following week, on 16 September, in a 1–1 draw against
Liverpool at Anfield. He kept his place in the team and played in all of Burnley's remaining fixtures that season. On 9 October, Pope signed a new contract to keep him at Burnley until 2020. On 26 July 2018, he suffered a dislocated shoulder after colliding with
Sam Cosgrove during Burnley's 1–1 draw away to
Aberdeen in the
2018–19 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round first leg. Burnley signed
Joe Hart on 7 August to provide cover for Pope and Tom Heaton, who was also injured. Pope made his first-team comeback in Burnley's 1–0 home win against
Barnsley in the
FA Cup third round, but he did not play at all in the Premier League that season. On 1 August, Tom Heaton signed for
Aston Villa, paving the way for Pope to become Burnley's first choice goalkeeper. He had a prolific
2019–20 season, as he featured in every minute of Burnley's Premier League campaign. Coming into the last match of the season against
Brighton, Pope was level on clean sheets with
Manchester City's
Ederson, with both keepers having kept 15. In the 20th minute of the match against Brighton,
Yves Bissouma scored, meaning Pope would finish the season with 15 clean sheets. Manchester City's final match against already-relegated
Norwich City, ended 5–0 with Ederson keeping his 16th clean sheet, claiming the
Golden Glove outright, narrowly beating out Pope. On 11 July 2020, Burnley drew 1–1 away to Liverpool and became the only team to take points off Liverpool at
Anfield that season. Pope was highly applauded for his performance in the match, as he made eight saves to deny Liverpool a win. Pope only missed two of Burnley's Premier League games in the
2021–22 season, but he could not save the team from relegation after six consecutive seasons in the top tier. reported by
Sky Sports to be £10 million. He kept a clean sheet on his competitive debut in Newcastle's 2–0 home win against
Nottingham Forest on the opening day of the
2022–23 Premier League season. Pope was sent off for handling the ball outside his penalty area in Newcastle's 2–0 home defeat to Liverpool on 18 February 2023. His dismissal meant that Newcastle were without both their first and second choice goalkeepers for the
2023 EFL Cup final against
Manchester United;
Martin Dúbravka was
cup-tied having played for United in the third and fourth rounds during his loan spell. Third-choice goalkeeper
Loris Karius made his debut as Newcastle lost the match 2–0. During
the season, Pope quickly rose to the top in the race for the Golden Glove, after six consecutive matches in which he did not concede a goal. He maintained this lead for a number of weeks, but in that time, only recorded one clean sheet, and he was eventually surpassed by Manchester United's
David de Gea. It was later revealed that he had been playing with an injured finger, and had minor surgery on it following Newcastle's goalless draw with
Leicester City, resulting in Newcastle returning to the
UEFA Champions League for the first time in 20 years. On 6 December 2023, the club said Pope would be out of action for around four months after suffering a shoulder injury in a home match against
Manchester United. ==International career==