Newcastle United looking to make Korea-defining move this summer

Nothing has been officially confirmed as yet but rumours around Newcastle United's summer pre-season plans are starting to come out.

Craig Hope has written in his Newcastle Confidential column that the Magpies could be heading to Seoul in South Korea to take on Tottenham Hotspur at the 66,000-capacity stadium which was used for the 2002 World Cup.

It was originally expected that Newcastle would, along with Liverpool, take part in a pre-season tournament in Hong Kong at the new Kai Tak stadium, but after Liverpool, AC Milan, Arsenal and Spurs announced their involvement, Newcastle have switched focus to Korea.

Tottenham look like they'll be hitting up both countries with their ties to Korea being massive thanks to Son Heung-Min.

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Son Hueng-min's involvement will practically guarantee a sell-out crowd

Son's involvement is likely to guarantee a capacity crowd for Newcastle's game which is what the Toon hierarchy will be looking for.

They may be there to see their star player, but Newcastle will be hoping to win over a few fans. After all, that's what these pre-season tours are really all about - World domination!

It is thought they will play two matches in Korea, most likely versus Spurs and an All-Star XI. They will also play one game in Singapore, with Arsenal in the frame, but confirmation is still awaited on all fixtures.

It appears Newcastle have learned their lesson from their outrageous Australia tour last season

Newcastle have already confirmed that they will not be partaking in the Summer Series. The Premier League's tournament held in the USA over pre-season in which they were involved two summers ago.

So far, there has been no talk of a ridiculous trip halfway around the world for a friendly in Australia while the English season is still underway like last season when Newcastle and Tottenham flew down under for a match between the end of the Premier League season and the FA Cup final.

It seems like lessons have been learned from that mental decision.