Newcastle United new arrival spotted in Austria along with Anthony Elanga & unconfirmed 'free agent'
Newcastle United are in Austria this week as their pre-season training steps up.
After a week back on the training pitch at Darsley Park, Newcastle’s squad have flown over to Seefeld in the Austrian Alps for a training camp ahead of their opening pre-season match in front of a crowd at Celtic on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
The Magpies beat Carlisle United 4-0 in the training ground friendly on Saturday, with Sean Longstaff, Joelinton, Jacob Murphy and Ben Parkinson scoring in the game.
Since then, new signing Anthony Elanga has joined up with the squad for the trip to Austria. Newcastle have also welcomed back Sandro Tonali, Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon, Dan Burn, Martin Dubravka and Odysseas Vlachodimos to training this week after delayed returns.
Tino Livramento has been given an extended break after helping England Under-21s win the European championships but is set to join up with the squad later this month.
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Newcastle United new arrival spotted with coaching staff
In addition to Elanga’s arrival at Newcastle, another new recruit announced last Friday was set-piece coach Martin Mark.
The Magpies have recruited Mark as an ‘elitle level’ set-piece coach ahead of the 2024/25 season. And the Dane was pictured with the Newcastle squad in Austria following his arrival from FC Midtjylland.
As set-piece coach at Midtjylland, Mark oversaw the side score 27 set-piece goals during the 2024/25 season.
The 31-year-old will work with Newcastle’s senior set-piece analyst Kieran Taylor as Newcastle look to improve their effectiveness from set-pieces this coming season.
Newcastle were one of the few Premier League clubs without a recognised set-piece coach for the 2024/25 season. Despite mixed results on the set-piece front, The Magpies famously scored their first Wembley Stadium goal in 25 years as Dan Burn headed the ball in from a Kieran Trippier corner to give Eddie Howe’s side the lead in the Carabao Cup final win over Liverpool in March.
Newcastle United new contract ‘confirmed’?
Last week, Newcastle announced the release of Callum Wilson following the expiration of his contract at the club on June 30.
Goalkeeper John Ruddy’s previous contract at Newcastle also expired on June 30, with the last official communication from the club stating talks were ongoing regarding a new deal for the 38-year-old.
That was over a month ago, and you’d be forgiven for thinking Ruddy was now a free agent, as there has been no announcement of the goalkeeper’s new deal, 15 days after his previous contract expired. Ruddy is still listed as a free agent on the Premier League website along with Wilson.
But Ruddy is evidently still part of the first-team set-up as he has since featured in Elanga’s arrival video, the Carlisle friendly and Newcastle’s training gallery in Austria. While it is worth noting that Ruddy does not need to be under contract to continue to train at Newcastle and feature in friendly games, it is understood he has indeed agreed a new deal despite the lack of official confirmation.
Newcastle refraining from an official announcement over a fourth-choice goalkeeper unlikely to feature for the first team makes sense when they can confirm it more subtly instead. Especially as The Magpies are actively pursuing another goalkeeper signing in James Trafford from Burnley.