· 8 August 2025, 10:42
**Newcastle United are in action at St James' Park tonight as the Sela Weekender gets underway with a match against Espanyol - kick-off is 7:30 pm and the game will be streamed via the official site for a fee.**
The Magpies are also back in action tomorrow on the hallowed turf as they take on Atletico Madrid for the Sela Cup, which means Eddie Howe is going to have to make full use of his squad over the next two days.
It should provide ample opportunity for young players on the fringes to make their case to be in and around the first team this season as Newcastle return to the Champions League wth a squad that is really not up to the task as things stand in terms of depth.
Now it seems like Eddie Howe has already got his eye on one special player who has surprised him already, potentially leading to a rethink on his future.
Korean wonderkid Park Seung-soo has impressed Eddie Howe
Eddie Howe wants to take an extended look at Park Seung-soo
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Park Seung-soo signed for Newcastle this summer, and the 18-year-old Korean was supposed to go into the reserves for the first half of the season with a view to a loan in the second half, but he has impressed the staff so much that Eddie Howe told [The Chronicle](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/eddie-howe-namechecks-two-youngsters-32219020) they may have second thoughts about how to deal with his development.
> "Part of us thought that (Under-21s and loan) would be his journey. But like with any player, we will always take it on merit."He has come into the group and he has really impressed in training as well as the games. He has done really well in his little cameos, he has taken on a lot of new information on.
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> "Credit to him he has done it all with a smile on his face. He has earned the right to stay with us. He will be involved with us at the weekend and then we will take it step by step."
Park Seung-soo has caught Eddie Howe's eye
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It seemed like a good idea from a PR perspective to let Park Seung-soo play when out in Korea, as that's where he's from, and his participation would drum up plenty of interest from the Korean fans, but we don't think anybody was expecting him to look so first-team ready.
He bossed the Team K-League defence when he came on late in that game, then he was handed more minutes against Tottenham, and he didn't look out of place against Premier League opposition.
Many fans have already called for him to be part of the first-team squad next season, and it looks like there's a chance the youngster could play his way into the squad.