Newcastle United set to trigger new deal & squad number revealed after loan return v Spurs

Newcastle United flew to the other side of the world to beat Tottenham Hotspur on penalties.

James Maddison’s strike was cancelled out by Alexander Isak on the stroke of half-time. The match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes before Newcastle won 5-4 on penalties.

Less than 72 hours after beating Brentford 4-2 on the final day of a gruelling 51-game competitive season, The Magpies flew over 20,000 miles to Melbourne, Australia for two post-season friendly matches.

Tottenham Hotspur were the first familiar opponent for Eddie Howe’s side. Newcastle had beaten Spurs 4-0 at St James’ Park just over a month ago but this was very much a homecoming match for manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Spurs boss admitted had he been in Newcastle’s position, he wouldn’t have agreed to play such a friendly on the back of a European campaign. The decision to fly to Australia so soon after the end of the season has been criticised for prioritising commercial revenue over player welfare and environmental factors.

Newcastle were a late replacement for Chelsea in the friendly matches. The Blues, like Spurs, did not have European football in 2023-24 but opted to pull out of the trip after reaching the FA Cup semi-final.

After being hit by numerous injury issues during a 51-game season, the trip was the last thing Newcastle needed in many ways. But the financial benefits are hard to ignore.

The two matches in Melbourne will likely generate the club more revenue than a European cup run in the Conference League - a competition that their hopes of qualifying for are pinned on Manchester City winning the FA Cup on Saturday.

The match may have been a farce, with players dragged to the other side of the world to perform rather than play - but the 78,419 spectators at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground certainly got their money’s worth.

Rusty Nick Pope

Nick Pope put in an impressive display at Brentford on Saturday with a few fine saves to keep the scoreline down. But his distribution let him down on Wednesday as his attempted clearance fell straight to Maddison on the edge of the box.

Although the Spurs midfielder clearly handled the ball as he controlled it, there was no VAR in place as he wriggled into the box and blasted the ball into the left side of the goal.

It was no less than Spurs deserved after a dominant opening to the game. Pope still managed to regain his composure to make some comfortable saves and claims.

Kieran Trippier injury scare?

Typically, the game was not without injury scares for Newcastle - the last thing some players want ahead of a summer of international football.

Joelinton was feeling his thigh early in the first half but managed to get through to half-time before being replaced. But Kieran Trippier didn’t complete the opening 45 minutes as he was taken off early and replaced by Jacob Murphy.

The England international didn’t look in any serious discomfort as he left the pitch but was spotted with an ice-pack on his leg. He’ll be hoping to remain fit after being called-up into the England preliminary squad ahead of Euro 2024.

Newcastle United’s creative influence

When you think of Newcastle’s most creative players, Bruno Guimaraes, Trippier and Anthony Gordon are probably the first few that pop into your mind.

But it was actually Trippier’s replacement Murphy that provided United’s creative spark in Melbourne. The winger’s decisiveness and delivery in the final third have been crucial for Newcastle in recent weeks.

After ending the season with four assists and a goal in Newcastle’s final five games, Murphy popped up with another assist as his low ball was parried into the path of Alexander Isak to make it 1-1 at half-time.

Newcastle searched for a second after the break with their two best openings created by Murphy. Another teasing ball into the box couldn’t quite fall to a black-and-white shirt before he released Amadou Diallo with an excellent pass with the outside of his boot.

The 29-year-old’s versatility to play anywhere down the right gives him an important purpose in Howe’s squad.

Garang Kuol and several Newcastle United debutants

As is often the case in friendly matches, the second half of the game was a bit of a non-event due to the countless substitutions.

Newcastle ended the match with a side resembling Ben Dawson’s Under-21s with Travis Hernes, Dylan Charlton and Ciaran Thompson all coming on for their first non-competitive appearances for the first-team.

Another debutant was Garang Kuol, back in his native Australia after a difficult loan spell at Volendam.

The 19-year-old was handed the No. 38 shirt last worn by fellow Australian Curtis Good in 2017-18. But he was ultimately quiet and struggled to get involved in the closing stages with a couple of loose passes and touches his only telling contributions in normal time.

Still, when the match ended 1-1, Kuol kept his cool and dispatched a confident penalty to put Newcastle on their way to victory in the shootout.

An unlikely hero for Newcastle United with contract extension set to be announced

In terms of candidates for having the ‘best job in the world’, Mark Gillespie must certainly be up there. The boyhood Newcastle fan has got to follow his team around Europe and now Australia this season without any real pressure when it comes to playing matches.

But his late introduction for Nick Pope saw him don the captain’s armband in the penalty shootout.

Quite fittingly, the 32-year-old saved Bryan Gil’s penalty which ultimately saw Newcastle win the shootout after dispatching all five of their spot kicks.

When Harrison Ashby converted to win the shootout for Newcastle, Dan Burn, rushed onto the pitch from the bench to celebrate with Gillespie as if he’d just helped Newcastle reach a cup final.

Even down under, Geordie boys are taking the ----. And Gillespie’s contract extension at St James’ Park is set to be announced.

But Newcastle aren’t done there with the A-League All Stars next up at the Marvel Stadium on Friday (8:05am BST kick-off).