Newcastle United have returned from a week at Dublin’s Carton House training facility and Hughton is considering his line-up for the pre-season curtain raiser at Carlisle on Saturday.
Hughton has confirmed he will hand a debut to new boy Perch and there are likely to be wholesale changes at half-time as he uses the game to build the fitness and condition of his players ahead of their August 16 opener at Old Trafford.
Chris Hughton: “The lads were superb over in Ireland and I felt it was another very productive week over there.
“This first friendly is all about getting back into our rhythm and building up our fitness.
“But you know when you go to somewhere like Carlisle it will be a very competitive friendly too.
“I will be getting everyone bar Jonás (Gutiérrez) and (injured) Danny Simpson involved and it will be a good test to see where we are at the moment. The priority is to get everyone through it unscathed and not to get any injuries, but of course there is an opportunity for people to impress as well.
“At this stage you wouldn’t expect us to be at full pelt but we know there are going to be a lot of supporters travelling and it is a good game for us to get started.”