Newcastle United arrive in Singapore for pre-season match with Arsenal

SINGAPORE – Whoops of delight and manic calling of players’ names from about 40 supporters greeted the Newcastle United squad when they arrived at their Pan Pacific Singapore base on the morning of July 25.

But all the buzz surrounding the League Cup winners over the previous 24 hours involved a player who did not even board the plane bound for Singapore.

Hours after Newcastle announced that their squad that left England on July 24 was missing star striker Alexander Isak due to a thigh injury, multiple UK media outlets reported that the Swede was considering an exit from the club.

The noise surrounding Isak – heavily linked with a move to English Premier League champions Liverpool – meant Newcastle manager Eddie Howe probably did not have a restful flight here as his team prepare to play Arsenal on July 27 as part of the Singapore Festival of Football.

And while the 47-year-old Englishman did not stop to speak to the media, he flashed a smile of acknowledgement and a thumbs up to the supporters.

Most of the players, too, alighted from the bus and headed straight into the hotel, although some later interacted with fans inside.

Speaking to the media later, club captain Bruno Guimaraes brushed aside the speculation surrounding Isak, whom he called a “top player” and a “good guy”.

Said the Brazilian midfielder: “I think he (is going) through a lot of things at the moment. Some things that I’ve seen are not true, but my focus at the moment is with the lads (here).

“(The situation with) Isak is something that I cannot control and the club has control on it. I hope he is going to be fit again when we return to Newcastle to prepare for the new season.”

England defender Dan Burn, when asked if he understood if Isak wanted to leave Newcastle, said: “Listen, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, but I think we can just control what we can control. That’s a question for Alex to answer.

“He’s obviously a big player for us, but we do have a lot of quality in the squad as well, obviously, bringing Anthony (Elanga, a winger) in as well, which I think was a great signing.”

Burn and Guimaraes were among the Newcastle players – including Italian midfielder Sandro Tonali, English defender Kieran Trippier and Brazilian midfielder Joelinton – who greeted fans inside the hotel and obliged them with photos and autographs.

Supporter Irfan Said, who managed to snag the signatures of four players on the back of Newcastle’s famous black-and-white jersey, said: “Trippier and Bruno were the most friendly players.

“Trippier said he had a long flight and that he was tired, but he still came and interacted with us and was very warm to us.”

On Isak not being a part of the travelling squad, the 30-year-old 3D modeller, a Newcastle fan since 2001, said: “Yesterday, I was angry, sad, just feeling a mix of emotions... But today I am over it. I would of course prefer him to stay, but if his mind is (elsewhere), maybe we can move on.”

Howe had previously said he expected Isak to join the team for their Asian tour.

Any move for the striker, who has scored 54 goals in 86 Premier League games for Newcastle in the last three seasons, would likely see the buying club having to fork out a figure upwards of £120 million (S$206.9 million).

After the game against Arsenal in Singapore, Newcastle will travel to South Korea, where they will meet a K-League selection side at the Suwon World Cup Stadium on July 30, before facing fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Aug 3.

This is the Magpies’ first visit here since 1996, when a side featuring Faustino Asprilla, David Ginola and Les Ferdinand thumped an S-League All-Stars team 5-0 in front of 41,000 fans at the old National Stadium.

On July 23, Arsenal beat AC Milan 1-0 in the first of two games in the 2025 Festival of Football in front of an underwhelming 22,813 fans.

Burn said he was hoping for “big numbers” of fans at the 55,000-capacity National Stadium on July 27. “Arsenal is going to be a tough game, it always is,” he said.

“They’ve had a few more days to get used to the time difference and the heat.

“But we’re just looking forward to working hard and going out and training and preparing for the games.”

Newcastle ended a 70-year domestic trophy drought when they beat Liverpool 2-1 in the League Cup final at Wembley in March. They went on to finish fifth in the Premier League to qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons.