Tottenham are heading to the Far East for a post-season match – leaving some of the players stunned.
Mauricio Pochettino must take his squad to Hong Kong for a friendly after the final Premier League game of the season – their 53rd of the campaign – at Hull on May 21.
Spurs rubber-stamped the match once they had been knocked out of the FA Cup-semi-finals by Chelsea.
Yet some of the team’s stars are unhappy they must play one more game, particularly as most of the squad will be involved in competitive international matches in June.
Chairman Daniel Levy is keen on the money-spinning match against a local team but also to raise the club’s profile in Asia which has rocketed since their improvement in the League over the last two seasons.
Tottenham travelled to Australia and Malaysia for an end-of-season tour two years ago and they also visited the Bahamas in 2013 – the base for club owner Joe Lewis – for a low-key friendly against the Jamaican national team.
Pochettino’s English based such as Deli Alli, Harry Kane, Eric Dier and Kyle Walker are all due to star for England in a World Cup qualifier against Scotland in June and a friendly in France.
The following month, Tottenham will head to the United States to take part in the International Champions Cup.
They will take on PSG in Orlando, Roma in New Jersey and Manchester City in Nashville, Tennessee.
This will be another chance for Spurs to play high-profile friendlies with Levy keen to secure a massive naming rights deal on the club’s new stadium.