Newcastle United confirm preferred pre-season Portugal camp binned in favour of Yorkshire
Magpies’ head coach Steve Bruce had been keen to take his United squad away for a few days in the Portuguese sun – but Covid travel restrictions have meant the plan was shelved.
And instead United will make the shorter trip to Yorkshire in the week prior to their return to pre-season action against York City and Harrogate Town on Sunday, July 18.
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Hide AdIn a statement on the club website, United confirmed they will head to Queen Ethelburga’s on Monday, July 12.
The camp will be closed to the public and United will NOT play any friendlies on the site.
Of the announcement, Bruce said: "I firmly believe that for any team it's always vital to have a training camp away from the familiar surroundings of your training ground and once it became clear that the current Covid-19 restrictions would make travelling abroad extremely difficult, there was only one choice in my eyes.
"The facilities at Queen Ethelburga's are first class and I was delighted with everything last year, from the hotel accommodation to the pitches and everything in between, so we're really looking forward to going back there."
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Hide AdUnited’s squad return to first-team training next week, with testing starting on Monday and a full return for players at the club’s Benton training base slated for Wednesday.
Newcastle’s Premier League opener against West Ham (h) is on Sunday, August 15.