NEWCASTLE UNITED have been left extremely frustrated after they were forced to pull the plug on their plans to compete in a pre-season tournament in the United States.

The Magpies had agreed to compete in the inaugural ‘Ohio Cup’, which was due to have been the centre-piece of Eddie Howe’s pre-season schedule as he prepared his side for next season.

Newcastle and Wolves had signed up to play in the tournament, along with two sides from Spain which are understood to have been Valencia and Villarreal, with matches having been scheduled to take place in Cincinnati and Colombus at the start of July.

However, despite the intended start date of the competition being little more than six weeks away, organisers informed Newcastle officials this week that they were pulling the plug and cancelling the entire event.

The decision has infuriated the Magpies hierarchy, who were in the process of finalising their travel plans, and Howe, who had arranged the rest of Newcastle’s pre-season schedule to tie in with the American trip.

The US organisers have not given a detailed reason for their decision to cancel, although it is understood the MLS were reluctant to sanction the event because of potential clashes with the domestic schedule and the United States’ international programme.

The cancellation is a major headache for Newcastle, who now find themselves having to draw up an alternative programme at extremely short notice.

Whereas Wolves are still considering travelling to the US for a training camp that could involve a couple of impromptu practice matches against MLS sides, Howe does not feel such an ad-hoc arrangement would be conducive to the kind of detailed pre-season preparation he feels will be crucial this summer.

Newcastle last visited the US for a summer tour in 2015, and the trip was beset by problems involving the poor state of pitches and the lack of high-quality opposition, with the Magpies having to accept matches against a team from Mexico and two sides from the American lower leagues.

Newcastle officials considered a number of alternative options before committing to the US, but most, if not all, are now off the table because slots in tournaments have been filled or potential opponents already have a full fixture schedule.

The Magpies have visited both Saudi Arabia and Dubai during Howe’s tenure, but the option of a return to the Middle East is off the table because of the sky-high outdoor temperatures within the region at the start of July.

Newcastle are understood to have agreed a number of domestic friendly matches ahead of the new Premier League season, which is scheduled to start on August 6, but Howe wants to take his players on an overseas trip towards the start of the pre-season programme, and would ideally like to play some matches as part of that camp.

Whether that can be arranged at such short notice remains to be seen, with Newcastle’s players due to return to pre-season training on July 1 after they have had time off in the wake of Sunday’s game at Burnley, which will bring their current Premier League campaign to an end.

This summer’s pre-season schedule has already been complicated by the earlier start date for next season, with matches having been brought forward to create a gap in November and December to accommodate a winter shut-down for the World Cup.

While the current campaign ends this weekend, international players will still be in action until the middle of June, competing in World Cup qualifiers, the Nations League and friendly matches involving countries from outside Europe.

International players will be given extra time off at the start of pre-season, but would have been involved in the US trip had it taken place.