'I hope' - Newcastle United new signing set for Tokyo debut

The Magpies round-off their tour of Tokyo at the 67,000-seater Japan National Stadium. It comes after Eddie Howe’s side beat Urawa Red Diamonds 4-1 on Wednesday following a brace from Jacob Murphy and goals from Alexander Isak and Lewis Hall.

Howe named a strong side at the Saitama Stadium. Nick Pope started in goal behind a back four of Tino Livramento, and Emil Krafth, Dan Burn and Lewis Hall.

Harvey Barnes, Alexander Isak and Jacob Murphy formed the front three while Joe Willock and Sean Longstaff were recalled into the midfield to feature alongside Joelinton as build their fitness after missing the game at Hull City four days earlier.

But there will be changes against Yokohama, with some key players expected to be involved.

Bruno Guimaraes and Fabian Schar weren’t risked versus Urawa having only recently reported back for pre-season after being handed extra-time off for their respective involvement at Euro 2024 and Copa America.

The same goes for Martin Dubravka, whose future is uncertain, while tomorrow could be the first time Newcastle see summer signing Lloyd Kelly in action.

Kelly officially joined from AFC Bournemouth on July 1 and while he has trained with his new teammates, he is yet to feature in matches.

“I hope they will all feature,” said Howe told NewcastleWorld when asked about Guimaraes, Schar and Kelly. “They all trained today (Wednesday), we did a training session in the morning and they trained well.

“Good to have them with us, we expect them to play some part in the game.”

Konnichiwa! Newcastle United are in Japan - and so too are NewcastleWorld!

Our Newcastle United writer Jordan Cronin is there all week, providing coverage of the tour, behind the scenes video and analysis from Tokyo. 

And we’re proud to announce that our Newcastle United coverage of the tour has a sponsor! Every story from Japan is sponsored by Mobility Care Solutions Ltd, with the shop’s official mascot Murphy!

Eddie Howe's men take on Urawa Red Diamonds at the Saitama Stadium on Wednesday, July 31. They then face J.League runners-up Yokohama F. Marinos on Saturday, August 3.

For more information on Mobility Care Solutions Ltd click this link.