After weeks of rumours, it’s looking like Newcastle are set to confirm where the Magpies will travel to as part of their pre-season plans for next campaign.
Similar to last year, which saw Eddie Howe’s side travel to Australia and Japan, it’s looking like another foray to the Far East is on the cards.
But this time, it’s looking like a change of location, with Newcastle set to increasingly grow their global brand that has skyrocketed over the past few years.
In an exclusive from the i’s Mark Douglas, Newcastle are set to embark on a tour of Asian countries Singapore and South Korea as part of their pre-season plans for the 2025/26 campaign.
The trip in late July will feature three games across the tour, with at least one of those due to be played at the impressive 55,000-seater Singapore International Stadium.
It had been previously rumoured that Newcastle were going to play in Kowloon, Hong Kong, where Arsenal, Spurs, and Liverpool each confirmed their plans to play earlier this week.
This will be the very first time Newcastle will ever play in South Korea, with Singapore a country the club haven’t visited for close to 30 years.
With the club looking to grow its supporter base in South East Asia, this year’s plans are a further development from last year’s tour of Australia and Japan.
The Toon are set to play three games across the two countries, as well as conduct a training camp and partake in key money-raising commercial events.
Douglas’ sources indicate that the offer for the club to travel so far away was “lucrative” and a “no-brainer” financially, and there’s suggestions that games against Arsenal and AC Milan could be on the cards, with both sides also hinting that they’ll play in the region over the pre-season period.
Last year, the club’s CCO Pete Silverstone said that the club aimed to double their commercial revenue every two years, with international supporter growth being integral to these plans.
With Newcastle having played in America, Australia, Japan, Germany and Saudi Arabia on major pre-season tours over the last two years, it’s no surprise that the venues and destinations may only get more and more lucrative and grand.
If there’s any continued hopes to break the ‘Big Six’ financial monopoly in the Premier League from the likes of Newcastle and Aston Villa, then games in the likes of South Korea and Singapore are certainly a move in the right direction, even as player welfare and fitness in an already injury-afflicted squad becomes a bigger issue.