Eddie Howe Departs Newcastle as PIF Pursues Matthias Jaissle

Eddie Howe, the architect of Newcastle United’s modern revival, is set to walk away from St James’ Park in a move that jolts the club just as another turbulent summer gathers pace.

The 48-year-old, in charge since November 2021, has told the club he wants to step back from football, with his departure expected in the coming days. It brings to an end a spell that delivered Newcastle’s first major trophy in 70 years and two Champions League qualifications – a transformation that dragged the club from relegation fears to the top table of European football.

The timing, though, tells its own story.

A Golden Era, Cut Short

Howe’s tenure will be remembered as one of the most significant in Newcastle’s history. He arrived to a side staring down the barrel and left them with a Carabao Cup in the cabinet – the 2025 triumph breaking a seven-decade wait for silverware – and Champions League nights back on Tyneside.

His man-management, his ability to coax levels from players many had written off, and his calm amid the storm of expectation under Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) ownership reshaped the club’s identity.

But the last year has bitten hard.

A 12th-placed finish, bruising defeats to Sunderland, and the steady dismantling of the squad that powered Newcastle’s surge under Howe left scars. Alexander Isak forced through a £125m move to Liverpool last summer after a drawn-out saga. Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon have gone. Bruno Guimaraes is pushing to follow.

The project Howe built has been stripped of some of its pillars. The strain has been visible.

Romano: Howe Out, Jaissle Close

The breaking point arrived on Thursday morning. Fabrizio Romano reported that Howe is set to part ways with Newcastle with immediate effect, with the club already deep in talks over a replacement.

“Exclusive: Eddie Howe set to part ways with Newcastle with immediate effect. Big developments expected at #NUFC with decision to change and talks already starting for his replacement,” Romano posted on X.

Moments later, he named the man PIF want next: Matthias Jaissle.

“Matthias Jaissle, top candidate and in advanced talks to become Newcastle new head coach! He’s the number one candidate to replace Eddie Howe, deal CLOSE,” Romano added.

The 38-year-old German, currently in charge of Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League, is well known to PIF. He is a two-time Asian Champions League winner with the Jeddah club, who, like Newcastle, are majority owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The alignment is obvious. So is the intention.

Howe’s Change of Heart

David Ornstein, writing in The Athletic, detailed how this split has unfolded. Howe, he reported, chose to stay at the end of last season but has since had a change of heart and informed the club he wants a break from the game.

The club, Ornstein added, will green-light his exit. No acrimony. No public fallout. Newcastle are “well prepared” for his departure, with talks with Jaissle at an advanced stage and the situation described as amicable.

Behind the scenes, though, the warning signs had been flashing for months.

Back in March, Graeme Bailey reported that Howe’s position was under serious discussion amid a “hugely difficult” campaign that drifted into mid-table and included those damaging derby defeats to Sunderland. By April, Fraser Fletcher was detailing how Howe was fighting for his future while a cluster of top players agitated to leave ahead of the summer window.

Those predictions have played out almost line by line.

A Manager Under Siege

Publicly, Howe kept his composure. He faced down constant questions over his future, batting away speculation while insisting he still held a long-term vision for Newcastle.

On May 1, he spoke like a man planning the next phase, not the exit door.

“I have to retain that confidence. I don’t think it serves anybody to not have that long-term vision,” he said. “So, it’s interesting how you do the job, because you pretty much look at it day to day, how can we prepare for Brighton with one eye on next week, and one eye on the summer, and then one eye on next season?

“That’s always how I have managed.

“You look after long-term interests whilst taking care of the very short-term aims that you need, and that will never change.

“Regardless of results, you have to have that for the benefit of the football club. You always have to think of the football club first. We need to win games.”

But as the summer approached, the scale of the rebuild – and the reality of more high-profile exits – began to bite. On transfers, Howe laid out a clear philosophy: evolution, not revolution.

“I think there will be an element of change within the team, and I think that there always has to be with every transfer window, ideally,” he said.

“The aim is to always try to recruit in every window and ideally not that many players, so you don’t have the jump of six new players coming in like we had last summer.

“It’s more of a drip feed approach, which I think is the best chance to have consistent success, but change and evolution of where the team goes is really exciting because with some smart additions, and really good recruitment decisions, I think you can improve really quickly, as some teams from last summer have shown.

“Recruitment is our big focus.”

Those “smart additions” never quite materialised in the way he wanted. The exits did.

From Howe’s Newcastle to PIF’s Next Phase

What comes next feels like a clear pivot from the ownership. Howe was the perfect frontman for the first phase: stabilise, inspire, reconnect the club with its support, prove that Newcastle could live again at the sharp end of English and European football.

Jaissle, if and when he arrives, will inherit the expectations Howe helped create, but with a very different landscape. A dressing room in flux. A fanbase that has tasted Champions League football and a trophy and will not quietly accept a return to mediocrity. An ownership group now looking to align its football operations across continents.

Howe leaves with his reputation intact, his bond with supporters strong, and his work impossible to dismiss. He walks away having delivered on promises many thought fanciful when he first walked through the door.

The question now is not what Eddie Howe did for Newcastle. That is already etched into the club’s modern story.

The question is what Matthias Jaissle – or whoever ultimately takes the job – can possibly do next with the platform Howe has left behind.