'Exciting' Newcastle United new signing spotted in Singapore - and it's not Anthony Elanga

Newcastle United new signing Seung-soo Park has linked up with Eddie Howe’s first-team squad for their pre-season tour of Asia.

Newcastle confirmed the arrival of Park from K-League 2 side Suwon Bluewings whilst he was sitting on the first-team flight to Singapore on Thursday.

Howe’s side go up against Arsenal at the Singapore National Stadium this Sunday before flying to Seoul in South Korea to face the K-League All-Stars on Wednesday. The visit is then rounded off with a friendly versus Tottenham Hotspur.

Seung-soon Park could make Newcastle United debut in Singapore

Park could therefore make his debut in his homeland next week, which would certainly fuel the interest of the locals.

“It will be a very new feeling to play for my new club against Team K-League at the Suwon Stadium,” the 18-year-old told NUFCTV. “It’s very exciting. Also, going back to South Korea as a Newcastle player is very exciting.

United pulled off a similar move in May last year when Garang Kuol returned from his loan at FC Volendam to feature against Spurs and the A-League All-Stars in Melbourne.

Just months before completing his move to Newcastle from A-League outfit Central Coast Mariners, Kuol featured for Australia at the World Cup and became the youngest player to feature in the knockout stages since Pele in 1958.

However, the 20-year-old has quite fulfilled his promise. Kuol impressed for Magpies’ under-21s last season, scoring eight times, but before that had unsuccessful loans at Hearts and Volendam.

The winger will likely leave the club this summer, either on loan or permanently.

Newcastle United sign Seung-soo Park

Park landed in the United Kingdom last week to undergo his medical before taking to the stands at Celtic Park on Saturday to watch Newcastle’s 4-0 pre-season defeat to Celtic.

The South Korean under-20s international was pictured sitting alongside Newcastle’s newly-appointed head of football strategy Jack Ross, who will ultimately have a big say on the player’s development path.

Park, who made 28 senior appearances for the Bluewings in all competitions, will be part of the club’s under-21s squad when the competitive campaign gets underway.

United are understood to have fought off competition from several European clubs to sign Park, who has been compared to Kylian Mbappe by those within Korean football circles due to his electric pace.

Park previously trialled at Bayern Munich and, according to reports in Asia, has attracted interest from the likes of RB Salzburg, Hoffenheim, Valencia, Eintracht Frankfurt and Southampton.

Academy Director Steve Harper said: "Park is an exciting young talent with real potential. He's already shown maturity beyond his years in a competitive environment and we're delighted to welcome him to the club.

"His signing reflects our commitment to identifying and developing elite talent from across the globe and credit must go to our recruitment network, who continue to do an excellent job in identifying talented young players who have the potential to thrive here.

"We've seen our talent pathway produce some outstanding success stories in recent seasons and Park now joins a group of young players with that same opportunity ahead of them."

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