With the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada dominating the football calendar, it is easy to forget that Newcastle United are just weeks away from returning for pre-season training.
In what has been labelled one of the most important summers of Eddie Howe’s reign, the Magpies know they must make a strong start to the new campaign after finishing a disappointing 12th in the Premier League last season.
The pressure is firmly on Howe to get Newcastle back on track, and a productive pre-season could be crucial to achieving that objective. The squad are due to report back to the club’s training centre on Monday, July 13, and Newcastle have been handed a potentially significant advantage over many of their rivals.
Only six Newcastle players are currently involved at the World Cup. Dan Burn, Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Elanga, Yoane Wissa, Nick Woltemade and Malick Thiaw are all representing their countries in North America.
That means several key players, including Lewis Hall, Sven Botman, Fabian Schar, Sandro Tonali, Joelinton, Jacob Ramsey, Harvey Barnes, Joe Willock, Jacob Murphy, Nick Pope, Will Osula and new signing Ewen Jaouen, will be available from the first day of pre-season.
Compared with other Premier League clubs, Newcastle’s preparations appear far less disrupted. Manchester City have 19 players at the World Cup, Arsenal have 15, while Manchester United are missing 13 stars. Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Sunderland each have 12 players involved, with Aston Villa and Liverpool both set to begin pre-season without 10 internationals.
Even Tottenham and Brighton have more players away than Newcastle, potentially giving Howe an overlooked edge heading into the new season.
The Newcastle boss is also hopeful that injuries to Tino Livramento and Lewis Miley will not seriously affect preparations. Howe has already stressed the importance of signing players early, allowing new arrivals to settle quickly and fully benefit from a complete pre-season programme before the Premier League opener against Liverpool on August 23.
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