Eddie Howe officially exited his post at Newcastle United on Thursday after nearly five years at the club, with Al-Ahli coach Matthias Jaissle lined up as his successor less than a month before the new Premier League season begins.Howe exits after Wednesday’s 4-1 defeat to Bristol City in a preseason friendly, adding to the abrupt feeling of his departure, though multiple reports out of England suggest the England native asked to leave the club weeks ago because he was both physically and mentally drained. His exit has reportedly been described as amicable.The 48-year-old joined Newcastle weeks after a consortium led by the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, took over the club in Oct. 2021. He had since become the team’s most successful manager, leading them to two different spells in the UEFA Champions League and most notably snapping the team’s 70-year trophy drought with the 2024-25 EFL Cup.Howe had also assumed control over transfers over the course of his tenure but had watched that slip away in recent months. A batch of the team’s most high-profile players have left within the last year for big transfer fees, including Alexander Isak for Liverpool in a contentious saga a year ago and Anthony Gordon for Barcelona earlier this summer. Newcastle have also struggled to keep up with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, which has limited their business significantly and reportedly caused frustration for Howe.
Jaissle, Howe’s apparent successor, is expected to finish out preseason as he returns to Europe three years after joining Saudi side Al-Ahli, which is also owned by the Public Investment Fund. The Germany native began his coaching career in Austria in Red Bull’s setup, first as the coach of Red Bull Salzburg’s reserve team, FC Liefering, in 2021 before quickly taking the Salzburg job. He won the domestic double in the 2021-22 season and led the team to the Champions League knockout rounds for the first time in their history. He then led Al-Ahli to two AFC Champions League Elite titles, which were the team’s first continental trophies.
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