Eddie Howe Set To Leave Newcastle, Jaissle Lined Up As Replacement

Eddie Howe is leaving Newcastle United with immediate effect, bringing an end to his near five-year spell at St James’ Park.

Pressure had been building on the 48-year-old after Newcastle finished 12th in the Premier League last season, losing 17 of their 38 matches. His last game in charge was a heavy 4-1 pre-season friendly defeat to Bristol City on Wednesday.

Al-Ahli boss Matthias Jaissle is the frontrunner to take over. Howe arrived at Newcastle in November 2021, just a month after the Saudi Public Investment Fund took control of the club.

Sources suggest Howe was somewhat taken aback by the club’s transfer dealings this summer, even though he understood player sales were necessary. He had initially committed to staying on despite the expected departures, but his stance shifted as the transfer window progressed. As recently as March, chief executive David Hopkinson had said there were no discussions underway about changing manager.

Newcastle spent around £240m on new signings last year, but Howe was reportedly frustrated by Alexander Isak’s move to Liverpool, calling the loss “ever-challenging” back in January and repeatedly pressing for fresh recruitment in press conferences since. This summer has brought further blows, with Sandro Tonali joining Tottenham and Anthony Gordon moving to Barcelona, while Arsenal continue to pursue captain Bruno Guimarães.

Howe took over from Steve Bruce and delivered Newcastle’s first major trophy in 70 years, lifting the 2025 Carabao Cup. He also guided the club to Champions League qualification in both 2023 and 2025, though last season ended in an 8-3 aggregate defeat by Barcelona in the last 16. Their League Cup title defense fell at the semi-final stage, and their league form dropped off sharply after a fifth-place finish the year before.

Across his tenure, Howe won 84 of 179 Premier League games, drawing 38 and losing 57 — more league wins than any other Newcastle manager, and a win rate of 46.9% second only to Kevin Keegan’s club record.

His likely successor, 38-year-old Jaissle, has led Al-Ahli to back-to-back AFC Champions League titles since joining in 2023. A German former defender, he came through Stuttgart’s academy and played for Hoffenheim before a knee injury ended his career at 25, having earned caps at Under-21 level for Germany. He began coaching as an assistant at Danish club Brøndby, then took his first head coaching role at Austrian second-tier side Liefering, before succeeding Jesse Marsch at RB Salzburg in 2021 and winning two Austrian league titles and a domestic cup there.