Everything you need to know about the Premier League Asia Trophy as Newcastle United arrive in China

But what is the tournament and when are the games? Here’s the answer to all of your questions ahead of United’s pre-season opener.

Who is taking part in the tournament?

Premier League champions Manchester City are the poster boys of the tournament, with West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers joining the Magpies in the four-team knock-out cup.

When will the games take place? When is Newcastle’s first game?

Newcastle will play in the Premier League Asia Trophy's opening match against Wolves, this will take place at the Nanjing Olympic Stadium on Wednesday, 17th July (kick-off 11am BST).

Immediately after the opener Man City will play West Ham (kick-off 1.30pm BST).

The winners of those games will then play in the final on Saturday at Hongkou Stadium in Shanghai ((kick-off 12.30pm BST).

There will also be a third placed play off (kick-off 10am BST).

Who is in Newcastle United’s Premier League Asia Trophy squad?

Martin Dúbravka, Ciaran Clark, Paul Dummett, Ki Sung-yueng, Fabian Schär, Jamaal Lascelles, Jacob Murphy, Jonjo Shelvey, Dwight Gayle, Matt Ritchie, Yoshinori Muto, Isaac Hayden, Rolando Aarons, Federico Fernández, Javier Manquillo, Joselu, Jack Colback, Jamie Sterry, Karl Darlow, Freddie Woodman, Nathan Harker, Achraf Lazaar, Sean Longstaff, Matthew Longstaff, Owen Bailey, Kelland Watts, Tom Allan.

Who is missing?

Miguel Almiron is not part of the squad due to his involvement in the Copa America with Paraguay, while Henri Saivet remains at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Florian Lejeune and Rob Elliot are out with injuries.

Christian Atsu is on holiday after his AFCON run with Ghana.

When did NUFC fly out to the Far East?

Newcastle’s flight was on Saturday, with the team expected to arrive Sunday, 72 hours before their opening match in the torunament.

What has been said about the tournament?

We know former boss Rafa Benitez was not a big fan of the trophy but skipper Jamaal Lascelles, speaking to nufc.co.uk, is. He said: “We are travelling to China and it's going to be a great experience playing in a completely different country with different surroundings and environment. We are very thankful to be taking part.

"A big part of it will be gaining experience, seeing different situations at the same time. Winning games will put a marker down and set an example for what we are going to do during the new season.

"I do think every game we play, especially in pre-season, will push us toward a good start of the season. We will be looking to win the games."

Have Newcastle taken part in this cup before?

Bobby Robson took his United side out to Malaysia for the first ever Premier League Asia trophy in 2003, United losing on penalties to Chelsea.