Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe (L) smiles as his defender Dan Burn looks on during their press conference in Seoul on July 29, 2025, the eve of their preseason match against Team K League. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe said Tuesday he will do “everything I can” to put the club’s new South Korean signing, Park Seung-soo, into their preseason game on Park’s home soil this week.
Newcastle United will take on Team K League, made up of All-Stars from the top South Korean league, at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, about 30 kilometers south of Seoul.
It will be the first of two matches for Newcastle for this year’s Coupang Play Series, run by the namesake local streaming service. The Magpies, the reigning English Football League Cup champions, will play UEFA Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur, captained by South Korean superstar Son Heung-min, at 8 p.m. Sunday at Seoul World Cup Stadium
Before arriving in South Korea, Newcastle announced their signing of Park. Though the 18-year-old hadn’t initially been on the club’s Asian traveling squad, he was on the bench for Newcastle’s friendly against Arsenal in Singapore on Sunday.
Wednesday’s match will be at Park’s old stomping ground, with his ex-K League 2 club, Suwon Samsung Bluewings, based at Suwon World Cup Stadium.
Asked about his plans for Park at the prematch presser Tuesday, Howe said: “I think that I’ll do everything I can to try and get him on the pitch because I think that would be important for everyone that comes to see him. So I’ll certainly do my best.”
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe (L) and defender Dan Burn smile during their press conference in Seoul on July 29, 2025, the eve of their preseason match against Team K League. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
The coach also said it was “slightly unclear” what will happen to Park in the short term. The club had said last week he would be joining their under-21 squad.
“I think we’re going to have to make an assessment on where we see him fitting in the best,” Howe said. “Currently, I think we’ve had only a very short-term impression. I think he’s been very popular so far. Seems like a very good person fundamentally and new experiences for him, but I’m sure he’ll do very, very well.”
Defender Dan Burn said he and his teammates will try to “make it as comfortable as possible” for Park as he tries to learn the new league.
Howe said he will try not to overwhelm the teenager with information and added, “I think it would just be a case to go out and play his normal game.”
Park is the 20th South Korean player to sign with a Premier League club, and Newcastle would be ecstatic if the young forward can follow in the footsteps of Son, by far the most successful South Korean player in the top English competition.
“His direct running style, his goal scoring ability … I think he’s an unbelievable player at top,” Howe said of Son. “He’s a player that I’ve always really admired, and also he tends to do everything with a smile on his face, with a really good attitude, and I really admire that in any player. So if you can take on a lot of those characteristics, you will go on to have an unbelievable career.”
While South Korean fans will understandably be focused on whether Park plays or not, Burn said a few of his teammates will also deserve attention Wednesday.
“I think hopefully, it’s a game where we can get forward players on the ball as much as possible,” he said. “Anthony Elanga, from experience playing against him, is very, very quick, so keep an eye on him. Jacob Murphy scored a great goal against Arsenal. Wingers Anthon Gordon, Harvey Barnes and William Osula have done really well.”
Howe has brought most of his regular players, with the exception of his top scorer from last season, Alexander Isak, due to a minor thigh injury. Isak is also being linked to Liverpool, though Howe kept mum on the forward’s future.
“There’s been no change I’m aware of,” Howe said when asked if there had been any change to Isak’s status over the weekend.
The Coupang Play Series has brought popular European football clubs to South Korea for preseason matches each year since 2022. Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Sevilla FC have also played here.
(Yonhap)
