Newcastle United are back to business after celebrating their historic Carabao Cup win throughout the international break.
It was a day no fan will forget in a hurry, but now the attention shifts to finishing the Premier League season on a high and carrying the momentum from the win at Wembley earlier in March into their league games.
From a Premier League perspective, it has been a season full of highs and lows for Newcastle United. Although they were not losing games, the results were far from convincing. However, Eddie Howe’s side picked up the pace immensely through the winter period, winning nine straight games in all competitions, equalling the club’s all-time record.
Form dipped once again after the streak was broken, but managed to pick up just before the final.
Over 250,000 Newcastle fans celebrated as the players paraded through the city to celebrate their Carabao Cup win last weekend, with the last two weeks feeling like a fever dream.
But now the honeymoon period is over and normality resumes – Newcastle take on Brentford on Wednesday in their first game since the Carabao Cup win – a game that could be huge in the Champions League race.
While work is being done on the pitch to get the Magpies as high up the table as possible, backroom staff are working tirelessly to improve the club’s world status. Since the takeover, Newcastle have been on several trips to Saudi Arabia and other places throughout the world, most recently to Japan for pre-season last summer.
There were murmers that Newcastle may be travelling to Hong Kong for their 2025/26 pre-season campaign, but recent announcements from other clubs have put that into jeopardy. A new update from Craig Hope has provided some fresh insight into what is happening for pre-season.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
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Newcastle United working on location for pre-season tour
In previous years, the Magpies have ventured far and wide for pre-season. At the beginning of the 2023/24 season, Newcastle played in the Premier League’s Summer Series, which took place in various states throughout North America.
Newcastle also ventured around Europe for their 2022/23 pre-season, playing clubs like Benfica and Mainz.
Club officials were initially tipped to send the Magpies to Hong Kong for at least one pre-season game this summer, with Newcastle set to play at the brand new Kai Tak Stadium. However, it was announced that Carabao Cup finalists and Premier League leaders Liverpool will now be playing AC Milan at the ground in July.
Further to that, Arsenal confirmed they will take on Tottenham at the same ground five days later in what will be the first-ever North London derby outside the UK.
Upon the announcement, Craig Hope stated that Newcastle were also looking to play in the new stadium.
The Daily Mail reporter also confirmed that an Asia tour is still on the cards for the Magpies, but nothing has been finalised as of yet.
Hong Kong is not the only location they were looking to go to, either, as a trip to Singapore was also mooted.
Newcastle United could flaunt new signings on pre-season tour
While fans wait to see what the club has in store for pre-season, Newcastle are busy working on finalising their top summer transfer targets ahead of the upcoming transfer window.
Newcastle want more quality in several positions this summer, most importantly at centre-back and on the right wing.
Newcastle sold Lloyd Kelly and Miguel Almiron during the January transfer window, leaving them severely lacking in depth in their positions. Jacob Murphy is now Newcastle’s only natural option on the right side of attack, but has been doing a stellar job in the circumstances.
Should they sign in time, fans could see several new players donning the black and white stripes in pre-season ahead of what will be another important season. The hope now is that European football will give sporting director Paul Mitchell more leverage to bring their top targets to Tyneside.
Pre-season will also be a fantastic opportunity for Newcastle’s promising young players to get a taste of senior football. The likes of Sean Neave and Lewis Miley have already broken into the Magpies’ first-team squad, fans could see even more young stars come through if they perform well before the 2025/26 campaign.