Newcastle United latest news: Eddie Howe’s side face Tottenham Hotspur in a pre-season game in Seoul, South Korea on Sunday.
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Newcastle United’s third and final game of their trip to Asia sees them take on Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur in South Korea. The match will be played at the Seoul World Cup Stadium as Eddie Howe’s side look to avoid a fourth-successive pre-season defeat.
Their trip to Asia has been clouded by speculation surrounding Alexander Isak’s future at the club. Whilst results and performances on the pitch have done little to lift the spirits of supporters.
Sunday’s game offers them a final chance to end their tour on a high note and build momentum ahead of back-to-back matches against La Liga opposition at St James’ Park in a little over a week’s time. However, Spurs will be buoyed by their 1-0 win over local rivals Arsenal, a win secured by Pape Matar Sarr’s wonderstrike over David Raya from the halfway line.
Frank’s side will also be backed by a feverish crowd in Seoul on Sunday, with many in attendance flocking to see local hero Son Heung-min in action. Son could even play his last game of football for Spurs against Newcastle United on Sunday should a proposed move to LAFC progress.
All of this stacks the odds against Howe’s side - and recent transfer developments from north London could further buoy Sunday’s opponents.
Tottenham Hotspur ‘in talks’ for Bayern Munich star
Bayern Munich midfielder Joao Palhinha is reportedly ‘in talks’ with Spurs over a potential loan move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season. The Athletic report that Spurs are interested in a move for the former Fulham man amid uncertainty over their current midfield options.
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Both Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur have entered the final twelve months of their contracts at the club and Palhinha, although a stop-gap initially, could help bolster their numbers in midfield. Following a hugely impressive season with the Cottagers, Palhinha joined Bayern Munich last summer - but struggled for regular game time at the Allianz Arena under Vincent Kompany.
Spurs recently failed in a move to sign Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White in a deal which, despite not being an exact like-for-like midfield replacement, would have added great quality and depth to Frank’s attacking options. Palhinha is more defensively minded than the Forest man with his signing likely to give more freedom to Spurs’ forward thinking and creative players.A move for Palhinha is not expected to be completed before Sunday, however, with Frank likely to have the same squad at his disposal this weekend as he had ahead of their clash with Arsenal. Howes, meanwhile, is also expected to have the same options available to him as he did on Wednesday in Suwon - minus Joe Willock.
Willock was injured in the final stages of their defeat to Team K-League and whilst initial fears that the former Arsenal man had suffered a serious injury, those were downplayed by Howe at the end of that match. Sven Botman, meanwhile, who missed Wednesday’s outing at the Suwon World Cup Stadium is a big doubt to feature on Sunday after being injured against Arsenal.