BREAKING: Eddie Howe leaves Newcastle United, surprise name could replace him
Eddie Howe has left Premier League club Newcastle United after nearly five years in charge. The news comes after a 4-1 defeat pre-season friendly defeat to EFL Championship side Bristol City.
Howe had endured a challenging last season in charge of the Tynecastle club, with his side finishing 12th in the league. Reportedly, the decision of his departure has been made after discussions with the club over the last 48 hours. According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, Howe wanted a break from football after spending almost five seasons at the club.
The Magpies have endured tough summer with Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon leaving for Tottenham Hotspurs and Barcelona respectively. There is also uncertainity around Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes’ future with Arsenal interested. On the other hand, the signings Newcastle have made in the transfer window, appear to have been carried out with one eye on the future.
20-year-old winger Bazoumana Toure arrived Hoffenheim for £42m and 18-year-old midfielder Sean Steur was signed from Ajax for £23m. The North East club also completed the transfer of 20-year-old goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen from Reims for £18.5m. All these signings, while exciting on paper, do raise questions over the club’s ability to challenge at the top of the table and compete for domestic honors in the near-future.
Howe arrived at Newcastle in 2021 replacing a Steve Bruce with the club mirred in a relegation battle. The former Bournemouth manager played an exciting brand of football and guided the club to safety. The next season saw Howe herald a new era at the Premier League club backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
The 48-year-old took the team to Champions League qualification for the first time in 20 years while gaining plaudits for the way success was achieved on the pitch. The 2024/25 season saw Newcastle win their first piece of domestic silverware since 1955 after they beat Liverpool in the EFL Cup final in March.
Last season, despite their struggles in the league, they reached the last 16 of the Champions League, the furthest they have gone in the competition in their history. Howe’s shock departure puts Newcastle into a position of some instability, with the fans having enjoyed a consistent run under the new owners until recently.
Surprise name lined up as next Newcastle United new manager
Eddie Howe would go down as one of Newcastle United’s greatest ever manager. He brought regular Champions League football to Tynecastle and ended their 70-year trophy drought, something that many big names before him failed to achieve. More importantly, the success has come with a positive brand of football as he restored this giant club’s massive reputation.
The task for the next manager would be improve on last season and win over the fans, who are fast growing impatient with the recent developments. While you maybe thinking that a well established name with success in England and Europe could be heading to the north east of the country, the club owners are lining up a surprise name.
According to The Athletic, current manager of the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli Matthias Jaissle is set to replace Howe at Newcastle. The German has been in charge of the Saudi Pro League club since 2023 and has impressed with two AFC Champions League titles in a row.
Before coming to the middle east, the 38-year-old coach also won to back-to-back Austrian Bundesliga titles with Red Bull Salzburg in 2022 and 2023 in addition to an Austrian Cup.
If appointed, Jaissle will have little time to implement his ideas with Newcastle’s opening Premier League game against Liverpool set for August 23 at St. James’ Park.
