Newcastle United will have a significant advantage over many of their Premier League rivals this pre-season as only six of their players are participating in the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. This allows a core group of first-team players to report for training on the first day of pre-season on Monday, July 13, giving Eddie Howe a head start in preparations.
Newcastle's World Cup contingent
The Magpies' six World Cup representatives are Dan Burn (England), Bruno Guimaraes (Brazil), Anthony Elanga (Sweden), Yoane Wissa (DR Congo), Nick Woltemade (Germany) and Malick Thiaw (Germany). In contrast, Manchester City have 19 players at the tournament, Arsenal 15, and Manchester United 13. Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Sunderland each have 12, while Aston Villa and Liverpool are missing 10 players.
Pre-season planning
Howe confirmed that World Cup players will be given three weeks off from the date their country exits. If any Newcastle player reaches the final on July 19, they would return to training on August 10, just under two weeks before the Premier League opener against Liverpool on August 23.
“July 13 is when they come back, then we have the training camp [in La Manga, Spain],” Howe told Chronicle Live. “But I say every year, we’d love to get players through the door early so they can do pre-season from day one, especially if they aren’t at the World Cup. It’s for obvious reasons, so we can acclimatise and start our work so they feel part of the team. Last summer was difficult for us in that respect. A lot of players came in late and then you are trying to do that work while there are games happening.”
Returning players
Players such as 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 all be available from day one. Howe is also hopeful that injuries to Tino Livramento and Lewis Miley will not significantly disrupt pre-season.
Newcastle finished 12th last season, and a strong pre-season is seen as vital to starting the new campaign on the front foot. With 12 Premier League rivals having more players at the World Cup, the Magpies are well-positioned to benefit from a more settled preparation period.
