BREAKING: Eddie Howe to leave Newcastle in stunning development with successor already decided

Newcastle United are poised to announce the exit of long-serving manager Eddie Howe in shock breaking news on Thursday morning, with Fabrizio Romano having instantly revealed the man that PIF have identified as his successor.

Howe has been in charge of Newcastle from November 2021 and has overseen one of the most successful periods in the club’s history. Having won the 2025 Carabao Cup and also led the club into the Champions League on two occasions, the club has benefited greatly from the 48-year-old’s superb man-management skills and ability to get the best out of his squad.

However, recent times have been tough at St James’ Park, with a flurry of their top stars all having left. Indeed, with Alexander Isak forcing through his exit to Liverpool in a £125m deal last summer, following a long, protracted saga, the club has this summer also seen Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon leave – while Bruno Guimaraes is also pushing to leave.

Now, according to Romano and in a shock development on Thursday morning, Howe is leaving Newcastle after close to five years at the helm.

And the reporter has revealed that a deal is close for German coach Matthias Jaissle, currently of Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro-League and well known to PIF, to come in as his successor.

In a post on X, Romano tweeted: ‘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.’

In a follow-up post moments later, Romano added: ‘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.’

Explaining the reasons for his exit, David Ornstein wrote in The Athletic: ‘Howe decided to remain at St James’ Park at the end of last season but has since had a change of heart and will depart in the coming days after five years in charge.

‘The 48-year-old, who led Newcastle to their first trophy in 70 years with the 2025 Carabao Cup, has told the club he wants to take a break from football.’

Ornstein insists the departure will be green lit with Newcastle’s blessing, adding: ‘The situation is amicable and Newcastle are well prepared for his exit, with talks between Jaissle and the club at an advanced stage.

‘Jaissle, 38, is a two-time Asian Champions League winner with Al Ahli – who, like Newcastle, are majority owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).’

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Clues had appeared that Howe could leave Newcastle

Writing in March, our correspondent Graeme Bailey revealed that Howe’s future was up for serious discussion at St James’ Park after a hugely difficult campaign that saw the club, amid what turned out to be a disappointing 12th-placed finish, beaten twice by Sunderland.

Then, in April, Fraser Fletcher revealed how Howe was fighting for his future amid a swarm of top stars battling to leave the club ahead of the summer window.

That has now played out exactly as Fletcher said it would.

Since then, Howe has batted off plenty of questions over his future amid rising speculation he could leave.

And while it was indicated at the season’s end, following a review that Howe, and his assistant Jason Tindall, should stay, the manager has since decided the time is right to leave.

Speaking on May 1, Howe told reporters: “I have to retain that confidence. I don’t think it serves anybody to not have that long-term vision.

“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.”

On summer transfers, with those high-profile departures now seen as a major factor in his decision to walk away, he added: “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.

“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 plays 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.”

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