A summer tour of true Far Eastern promise for St James' Park chiefs

NEWCASTLE United’s preseason programme is understood to have been hailed a money spinning success by club insiders keen to boost the club’s global presence.

- By LEE RYDER Chief Newcastle writer

‘The Magpies’ trip to the Far East - which included stops in Singapore and South Korea - proved to be a commercial hit despite the absence of star centre-forward Alexander Isak.

Isak shirts at Adidas stores in the Far East did stay on their hangers but popup stores in Singapore, Suwon and Seoul resulted in a success as Far East fans got their hands on the latest merchandise, which included specially branded Seoul training gear and replica shirts with players’ names printed in Korean on the back.

However, the invitation to the Singapore Festival of Football and the Coupang Play Series in Suwon and Seoul helped make Newcastle a profit.

By the time the St James’ Park turnstiles will have welcomed fans for games against Espanyol and Atletico Madrid this weekend in the Sela Cup, with the gate receipts from the 45,739 crowd at Celtic also considered, it is understood that Newcastle’s preseason fixtures had a commercial value of £5million to add to club coffers.

It is believed that this is the biggest profit Newcastle have made since the takeover for a preseason tour with the Austria trip in 2022 not representing huge commercial value and the US visit in 2023 flawed with other costs.

Indeed, flights and hotels in Philadelphia, Atlanta and New Jersey had to be paid for by Newcastle in 2023, while the South Korean hosts picked up the tab for the week-long stay in Seoul at their luxury base.

United stayed at the 5-star Fairmont Ambassador Hotel on Yeouido Island with rooms priced at up to £400 per night offering panoramic views, luxury pools and backing on to a shopping mall.

Although, the club did pay for their own private jet out to the Far East and the squad jetted back on a 14-hour direct flight from Seoul to Tyneside after playing Spurs.