Jaissle Favourite to Replace Howe as Newcastle Head Coach
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- Matthias Jaissle is the surprise favourite to replace Eddie Howe at Newcastle, with Howe set to leave St James' Park after nearly five years that included the 2025 Carabao Cup — the club's first domestic trophy in 70 years
- Jaissle currently manages Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, where he has won consecutive Asian Champions League titles in 2025 and 2026, a record likely noted by Newcastle's Saudi ownership
- Jaissle managed RB Salzburg from 2021 after replacing Jesse Marsch, winning the Austrian Bundesliga twice and the Austrian Cup once, with his squad including Benjamin Sesko, Brenden Aaronson and Karim Adeyemi
- Thomas Tuchel was a youth coach at Stuttgart when Jaissle was a player there, and Tuchel credited Jaissle's feedback as part of the process for selecting Al-Ahli striker Ivan Toney in England's World Cup squad
- Newcastle finished 12th in the Premier League last season, missing out on European football, and have lost Alexander Isak to Liverpool for a British-record £125m, plus Sandro Tonali to Tottenham and Anthony Gordon to Barcelona this summer
- Jaissle's tactical approach features high-pressing attacking football that demands intensity and forces turnovers high up the pitch, a style likely to appeal to St James' Park supporters
- Newcastle begin their 2026-27 league campaign at home against Liverpool on 23 August, following a 4-1 pre-season friendly loss to Championship side Bristol City
Why it matters: Newcastle are betting on a 38-year-old coach with no Premier League experience to arrest a slide that saw them finish 12th and lose three key players, including a British-record £125m departure of Isak to Liverpool. Jaissle's Saudi Pro League success and Tuchel connection give him standing, but his lack of top-flight European pedigree is a leap of faith for a club that won silverware only 18 months ago.
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