Newcastle United training ground update

Building work started last summer on single-storey side and rear extensions to the outdated Benton complex.

The club’s planning application, damningly, stated that the facility “fell below” Premier League and Championship standards. It read: "The current training facilities available to NUFC fall significantly below the Premier League, and perhaps even Championship, standards.

"As part of the continued efforts of NUFC to improve the facilities and environment for its players, and staff working on site, in the short term the club is looking to invest in redeveloping the current first team training ground by bringing it in line with other Premier League clubs and standards.”

Work on the extension, which includes a hydro pool, is progressing, and Howe and his players are slowly getting the use of more space inside the building.

Speaking ahead of tonight’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Southampton, Howe said: "It's getting there. The lads have got a couple more rooms to go into. It's still quite small, and there's still a lot of building work going on.

"There are certain rooms they can't go into, so it certainly feels that we are very tight together. Hopefully, in a few weeks, that’ll change – and we’ll feel the benefits of the work going on."

The training ground, built more than 20 years ago, was given a “lighter, brighter" makeover following the appointment of Howe as head coach in late 2021.

Newcastle plan to build an all-new training ground on a different site in the future.