NEWCASTLE UNITED will seek permission to sign a goalkeeper on an emergency loan ahead of Sunday’s Tyne-Wear derby with Sunderland.

Jak Alnwick injured his shoulder in the closing stages of last night’s Capital One Cup quarter-final, which saw Newcastle crash out of the competition as they suffered a 4-0 defeat to Tottenham.

The 21-year-old, who was at fault for Spurs’ opener as he dropped Christian Eriksen’s corner in his own six-yard box, received two bouts of treatment in the second half, and Pardew will instruct Newcastle officials to discuss his situation with the Premier League this morning.

Premier League rules enable clubs to make an emergency loan signing if they only have one senior goalkeeper available. In Alnwick’s absence, Freddie Woodman would fall into that category despite not having made a single senior appearance for the Magpies, but it remains unclear whether Karl Darlow’s registration would prevent Newcastle signing a short-term stop-gap to face Sunderland.

Darlow signed for Newcastle in the summer, before being loaned back to his former club Nottingham Forest, but the terms of the deal preclude any recall to St James’ Park before the end of the season.

“He’s (Alnwick) hurt his shoulder so we’re going to have to see,” said Pardew, who saw goals from Nabil Bentaleb, Nacer Chadli, Harry Kane and Roberto Soldado end his side’s interest in the League Cup. “It’s something we might have to look at because there’s no way that a 17-year-old (Woodman), who is our fourth choice, should be allowed to go in goal at this level.

“I think we’ll perhaps talk to the Premier League about Jak’s situation. To be honest, I’m not actually sure (of the rules), I’ll have to speak to the chief executive.

“I know the rules do allow you to have an emergency goalkeeper if you’ve only got one senior fit goalie. Freddie is classed as a senior even though he’s only 17 because he’s a professional.

“I haven’t really thought about it yet, and we’re not really sure Jak’s shoulder is that bad. We’ll have to see how he goes, but we’re only three days to the next game so he hasn’t a lot of recovery time if there’s any damage.”

If Alnwick is passed fit to start on Sunday, Pardew will have to rebuild his confidence after his first-half howler handed Bentaleb the opening goal on a plate.

The youngster, who was making only his second senior start, has now conceded eight goals in the space of five days, with Newcastle’s recent defensive solidity having dissipated completely in games against Arsenal and Spurs.

“We all felt for Jak, and at half-time, we were desperate to resurrect it for him,” said Pardew, who played down injury concerns over Moussa Sissoko, who was substituted in the second half. “He’s so unlucky on the second goal because it catches Colo’s (Fabricio Coloccini) heel and that takes it out of his reach because he was going to save that.

“That would have been a big boost for him in the second half, but it’s a cruel game at times and Jak’s really in the firing line at the moment, in terms of the last two results. There’ll be a lot of pressure on him.”

While Alnwick’s error was a major factor in Newcastle’s defeat, the manner of the Magpies’ second-half capitulation was a source of some concern.

Pardew’s side have now conceded three or more goals on 11 different occasions in 2014, but the Newcastle boss felt last night’s performance was a marked improvement on the one his side turned in at the Emirates on Saturday.

“This wasn’t the same as Arsenal, this was a much better performance,” he said. “The scoreline doesn’t reflect that, but we have to accept that we’ve been beaten on two occasions and we have to get back to winning ways.

“The irony of it is that if we win on Sunday, we could be in the top six and up until these two games, you would have said we were one of the best sides in the league. We need to get back to that.”