Eddie Howe leaves Newcastle after almost five years: Matthias Jaissle the leading candidate for the job
Eddie Howe has left his position as Newcastle United head coach less than a month before the start of the new Premier League season, bringing an end to one of the most important periods in the recent history of the club from northeast England. According to reports from Sky Sports, Reuters and several British media outlets, the 48-year-old English coach made the decision after talks with club officials, although the possibility of his departure had already been under consideration for several weeks. Howe is now expected to temporarily step away from football and take a break from coaching. Newcastle therefore faces a major change at a time when the team is already undergoing an extensive squad overhaul and preparations for the 2026/27 season are entering their final phase.
British media report that the departure was not the consequence of a single result or a sudden conflict, but rather of a series of circumstances that had accumulated over recent months. Among them, Howe's exhaustion, dissatisfaction with the direction of the transfer policy and the feeling that he no longer had the same influence over shaping the squad have been particularly highlighted. Sky Sports reported that the coach was prepared to continue the project at the end of the previous season on the condition that the club successfully strengthened the squad during the summer. Instead, Newcastle sold several key players, while questions about the future of several other important members of the team remained unresolved.
Departure prepared for weeks, not prompted by a single defeat
Howe's final match in charge was a friendly against Bristol City, which Newcastle lost 4-1 on July 29. Although the heavy defeat coincided with the announcement of his departure, Sky Sports reports that the result was not the direct reason for the end of the partnership. According to that source, Howe had informed his closest associates and the club's management earlier that he was seriously considering stepping down, but continued to oversee training sessions and preparations until Newcastle had secured a clear succession plan. Such a development points to a controlled but accelerated separation, rather than a conventional dismissal caused by sporting failure.
The Guardian reported that Howe felt exhausted after a period marked by high expectations, injuries, pressure to deliver results and frequent changes within the sporting department. According to the same source, dissatisfaction increased further because the new recruitment policy was increasingly focused on younger footballers with potential future resale value. Such an approach may be important for long-term financial sustainability, but at the same time it reduces the possibility of quickly replacing experienced and proven first-team players. According to the available information, Howe believed that the squad entering the new season did not match the level of ambition that the club and its supporters had developed during his tenure.
Major changes in the dressing room also lie behind the decision. Sky Sports reports that Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali were sold during the summer, while the future of captain Bruno Guimarães remained uncertain. A season earlier, the club had also lost Alexander Isak, who joined Liverpool in a transfer worth £125 million. When such departures are considered together, it becomes clear why the question of Howe's influence over the reconstruction of the squad emerged as one of the central issues in his separation from the club.
From a relegation battle to the Champions League
Howe took charge of Newcastle in November 2021, shortly after the ownership change and the arrival of a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, known as PIF. At the time, the team was in the relegation zone, without a victory in its opening eleven league matches and under serious threat of returning to the Championship. In his first season, he managed to stabilise the squad, raise the intensity of its play and secure survival, with Newcastle finishing the campaign in 11th place. That turnaround laid the foundations for considerably faster sporting growth than had initially been expected.
As early as the 2022/23 season, Newcastle finished fourth in the Premier League and qualified for the Champions League for the first time in more than two decades. Under Howe, the team developed a recognisable style based on high intensity, aggressive pressing, quick transitions and strong organisation without the ball. The defence became one of the most reliable in the league, while St. James' Park once again turned into one of the most difficult away grounds in English football. In the same season, Newcastle also reached the League Cup final, where it lost to Manchester United, but the very fact that the club had reached Wembley marked its return to the latter stages of major competitions.
After finishing seventh in the 2023/24 season, Newcastle qualified for the Champions League again the following year, this time by finishing fifth in the league. In less than four years, Howe therefore led the club into Europe's elite competition twice, something that had appeared to be a long-term rather than an immediate objective before his arrival. Under his leadership, the club became a regular challenger to England's wealthiest teams, although it simultaneously had to adapt its operations to the Premier League's financial sustainability rules. It was precisely this gap between the owners' financial strength and the limited scope for spending that often determined the pace of the project's development.
The trophy that changed Howe's status in the club's history
The greatest moment of his tenure came in March 2025, when Newcastle defeated Liverpool 2-1 in the League Cup final at Wembley. It was the club's first major domestic trophy since winning the FA Cup in 1955, ending a 70-year wait. If European competitions are also taken into account, Newcastle's previous major trophy had come in 1969, when it won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. For that reason, the 2025 triumph carried significance that extended far beyond a single season and a single title.
With that success, Howe permanently changed his own standing among Newcastle managers. Before his arrival, the club had spent years trying to find a balance between its enormous supporter potential, historical identity and limited sporting results. By winning a trophy and returning to the Champions League, he demonstrated that Newcastle could once again operate as a club that did not merely participate in major matches, but could also win them. His tenure therefore cannot be reduced solely to the final season or the circumstances of his departure.
Nevertheless, the final full season brought a noticeable decline. Newcastle finished the 2025/26 league campaign in 12th place, while in the Champions League it progressed through the league phase and reached the knockout stage, where it was eliminated by Barcelona. Such a European result confirmed that the team could compete at a high level, but its domestic form was not stable enough to secure another finish among the leading clubs. Injuries, changes in attack and increasing pressure on the squad's depth made Howe's job even more difficult.
Transfer strategy became the central point of the split
Newcastle's summer of 2026 was marked by an attempt to secure financial stability, rejuvenate the squad and maintain its competitive level at the same time. The club signed several young players, including winger Bazoumana Touré, midfielder Sean Steur and goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen, but the departures of established first-team players attracted considerably more attention. According to Sky Sports, Howe was prepared to continue on the condition that the club quickly and effectively replaced the key players who had been sold. When that did not happen to the extent he had expected, he concluded that the necessary conditions for continuing the same sporting project were no longer in place.
A change in transfer philosophy is not unusual for clubs attempting to reconcile high ambitions with rules governing revenue, expenditure and permitted losses. Young players can provide long-term sporting and market value, but their development requires time, stability and a clear structure. Howe demonstrated during previous seasons that he could improve players, but at the same time he was working in an environment where expectations included competing for European places and trophies. According to British reports, it was precisely the conflict between those timeframes, short-term results and long-term development, that became one of the key problems.
Changes in the club hierarchy and the distribution of authority add further complexity. At modern football clubs, the head coach is usually no longer the only person who makes transfer decisions, but operates within a broader structure made up of a sporting director, an analytics department, scouts and the board. During the earlier phase of the project, Howe played an important role in defining player profiles and building the culture of the first team. If his influence was indeed reduced, as British media report, the departure can also be viewed as a consequence of a change in the management model, rather than sporting results alone.
Matthias Jaissle facing the biggest challenge of his career
The leading candidate to succeed Howe is 38-year-old German coach Matthias Jaissle, who is in charge of Saudi club Al-Ahli. Sky Sports reported on July 30 that negotiations were at an advanced stage and that Newcastle wanted to complete the agreement as quickly as possible so that the new coach could take charge of the team during its training camp in Spain. Until the club officially confirms the appointment, however, his arrival should be treated as expected rather than completed. Other candidates had also been mentioned during earlier deliberations, but British sources identified Jaissle as the clear first choice.
Jaissle built his coaching reputation within the network associated with the Red Bull clubs. After his playing career ended early because of injuries, he worked in RB Leipzig's academy, then at Danish club Brøndby, before taking charge of Red Bull Salzburg. With the Austrian club, he won two league titles and one cup and reached the Champions League round of 16 in the 2021/22 season. His teams are generally characterised by high pressing, rapid occupation of space and direct play after winning possession, meaning that certain elements of his style naturally continue the intensity Howe established at Newcastle.
He arrived at Al-Ahli in 2023 and took charge of a dressing room containing a number of experienced international players. The Guardian reports that he successfully managed relationships between major stars and domestic footballers and retained his authority even during periods of weaker results. In his first season, the club finished third in the Saudi league, before turning its focus towards continental success. Jaissle's work in Saudi Arabia demonstrated that he could adapt to a different cultural and competitive environment, as well as to the pressure associated with ambitious owners and an expensive squad.
Two consecutive Asian titles as the main recommendation
According to official data from the Asian Football Confederation, Al-Ahli won the 2025 AFC Champions League Elite under Jaissle by defeating Japan's Kawasaki Frontale 2-0. A year later, the Saudi club defended the title by beating FC Machida Zelvia 1-0 after extra time. Jaissle therefore became the coach of a team that won two consecutive Asian championship titles, an exceptionally rare achievement in the modern era of the competition. It is precisely that continental consistency that represents his strongest qualification for a job in the Premier League.
Jaissle would arrive at Newcastle in a completely different context. The Premier League brings greater weekly competition, more intense media pressure and less time to adapt, while the new coach would immediately have to address questions involving the squad, the dressing-room hierarchy and supporter expectations. In addition, he would take charge of a team shaped for almost five years by a coach with very clear working methods and a strong connection with the crowd. Any change of system will therefore have to be rapid enough to produce results, but careful enough not to destroy what worked during the previous period.
The connection between Newcastle and Al-Ahli through Saudi Arabia's PIF further helps explain Jaissle's candidacy. PIF is the majority owner of Newcastle, while in Saudi Arabia it also controls Al-Ahli and several other leading clubs. That ownership link does not automatically mean that the move would be administratively straightforward, but it creates an environment in which both sides are well acquainted with the coach's work, methods and results. This is particularly important for Newcastle because the club does not have much time for a lengthy selection process.
The new season begins under pressure
Newcastle is due to open the new Premier League season on August 23 with a home match against Liverpool, leaving the future coach only a few weeks to get to know the team and introduce his basic tactical requirements. Before then, the club has a series of friendly matches and a training camp in Spain, making the speed of the successor's appointment an operational priority. Any delay would reduce the time available to assess players and make decisions before the summer transfer window closes.
The new coaching staff will not only face questions about results at the beginning of the season. Equally important will be decisions about which players the club will retain, what roles the young signings will receive and whether the team can once again move closer to the places that lead to European competition. After finishing 12th in the previous season, expectations are lower than they were following the League Cup triumph, but Newcastle's ownership structure, revenue and supporter base continue to create pressure for a rapid return towards the top.
Howe leaves as the coach who took over a team fighting for survival, returned it to the Champions League and delivered its first major domestic trophy in seven decades. His tenure ends at a moment of uncertainty, but his legacy remains visible in Newcastle's transformed status and the renewed expectations surrounding the club. For Jaissle, should he be appointed, the initial task will not merely be to replace a successful predecessor. He will have to convince the team and the supporters that the new management and transfer strategy can open the next phase of the project, rather than mark a return to a period of instability.
Sources:
- Sky Sports – report on Howe's departure, the timeline, changes in the squad and negotiations with Matthias Jaissle (link)
- Reuters / Channel News Asia – confirmation of media reports about the departure and an overview of the key results of Howe's tenure (link)
- The Guardian – context surrounding the reasons for the departure, changes in transfer policy and the loss of influence over squad building (link)
- The Guardian – profile of Matthias Jaissle, his working style and results at Al-Ahli (link)
- Asian Football Confederation – official information on Al-Ahli's successful defence of the Asian title in 2026 (link)