Newcastle United schedule two preseason friendlies

Newcastle United have two friendlies scheduled on their preseason calendar.

Newcastle United are a team being dragged in so many different directions this summer. On one end there is all the takeover coverage in the media, and then there is all the transfer business and preseason planning that needs to take place.

At the time of this writing, Newcastle United have only signed one player this summer – goalkeeper Mark Gillespie. However, the club could announce their second signing of the summer as soon as today with Jeff Hendrick expected to join the Magpies.

More signings, especially for positions up top and out wide, are expected to take place over the next few weeks. It remains to be seen who else will bring their talents to St. James’ Park, but one thing is for certain: two friendlies are now on the books.

According to separate reports from the Chronicle, Newcastle United will take on two Championship clubs behind closed doors. The two clubs Newcastle United will host at Benton are Barnsley FC and Stoke City.

The Magpies will face Barnsley on August 29th and Stoke City on September 5th. Both teams struggled during the 2019-20 Championship campaign as Barnsley managed to avoid relegation by the skin of their teeth, and Stoke City were an underwhelming bottom half side once again.

Both of these clubs will serve as great fitness tests for Newcastle United, but they will not offer strong quality for the squad to best prepare for the new season. With the current pandemic, friendly options are obviously limited.

Newcastle United do plan to schedule at least one other friendly before the season kicks off on September 12th, but there is nothing on the schedule yet.

Speaking of schedules, one date the Toon Army should circle on their calendars is August 21st, which is when the Magpies’ 2020-21 list of fixtures is announced by the Premier League.