Newcastle United U-turn as summer plans 'leaked' - set to be joined by Tottenham Hotspur & Brighton

Newcastle United are reportedly joining Premier League rivals Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur in Japan for pre-season.

The Magpies had hoped to spend their second successive summer in the United States having taken their place in the Premier League Summer Series in 2023. But proposals for games against the likes of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton, potentially in Florida, have failed to materialise into anything concrete.

As reported by NewcastleWorld last week, United have been exploring alternatives as they look to nail down a summer tour, and sources in Japan on Friday morning claim Eddie Howe’s side are heading to the Far East. They are set to face J-League clubs Urawa and Yokohama, with the clash against the former expected to take place at the 63,000 capacity Saitama Stadium on Wednesday, July 31.

The tour is still be confirmed by the Magpies, who are making the long haul trip to Australia to take on Spurs on Wednesday, May 22 - just three days after their final game of the 2023-24 Premier League season away to Brentford. The decision is commercially driven with the want to exploit any money-making or reputation-enhancing opportunities. Meanwhile, Howe’s men are also set to enter the Sela Cup following on from the success of last year's inaugural tournament on Tyneside. United emerged triumphant in the 2023 edition ahead of Nice, Villarreal and Fiorentina. There is an acceptance, however, that opponents for the 2024 edition of the completion need to be improved upon, with crowds failing to pack out the St James' Park capacity in August last year.

Saudi clubs had been considered, but, at this stage, that does not look to be a route the club are pursuing.