Newcastle United have moved to appoint Matthias Jaissle as their new head coach after Eddie Howe's five-year spell at St James' Park came to an end. The 38-year-old German, who has built his reputation away from England, is expected to lead the club into its next era.
Fabrizio Romano first reported Howe's imminent departure on Thursday morning before revealing minutes later that Jaissle had emerged as Newcastle's leading candidate to replace him. Newcastle could have turned to a proven Premier League manager.
Instead, they have placed their trust in Jaissle, who has spent the past three seasons with Al Ahli. The connection is hardly accidental. Both clubs are owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, meaning Newcastle's decision-makers have had a close view of his work long before the vacancy emerged.
It also explains why, with the new season just 25 days away and an opening fixture against Liverpool already locked in, talks have moved at speed rather than dragging into pre-season.
David Ornstein of The Athletic reported that Howe had actually agreed to stay on at the end of last season, only to have a change of heart in the weeks since. Newcastle, by their own account, were "well prepared" for that outcome.
That is a large part of why Jaissle's name was ready to go the moment Howe's exit became public.
Why Newcastle Chose Jaissle Over An Established Premier League Name
Howe's departure comes after a difficult 2025-26 campaign. The Magpies finished 12th in the Premier League, their worst league placing since before the PIF takeover, and were beaten 8-3 on aggregate by Barcelona in the Champions League last 16.
Just five wins from their final 17 league matches made his position increasingly difficult. Club officials, including a delegation from PIF, met after the season. Despite the disappointing campaign, they initially agreed Howe deserved another year.
That decision has now been reversed, with Ornstein describing the exit as amicable. He also reported that discussions with Jaissle were already well advanced before Thursday's announcement.
Ben Jacobs added detail on the financial side, reporting that Al-Ahli "won't stand in his way" given Jaissle's back-to-back continental titles, but that his release clause will need to be triggered. TEAMtalk sources put that figure at £24.5m, though Newcastle have not confirmed the exact sum.
Saudi outlets had already reported that Jaissle turned down a new Al-Ahli contract running until 2029 weeks earlier, with the two sides disagreeing over release-clause terms in that renewal.
Matthias Jaissle's Journey From Hoffenheim To Al-Ahli
Jaissle's route into coaching started earlier than most. He was a defender who never played above Germany's second tier, made only 65 appearances for Hoffenheim, and later moved into an assistant's role at Danish club Brondby under Alexander Zorniger before the Red Bull group brought him into its youth setup at Salzburg.
He was promoted quickly, first to Liefering, Salzburg's feeder club, then to the Red Bull Salzburg first team in 2021. He won the Austrian Bundesliga twice and the Austrian Cup once. During that time, he also helped develop players such as Benjamin Sesko, Karim Adeyemi and Strahinja Pavlovic.
Al-Ahli hired him in 2023, and results were mixed at first. He was reportedly close to being sacked early in his tenure, but Al-Ahli's supporters pushed back against the idea, and the club kept faith with him.
Al-Ahli beat Japan's Machida Zelvia in April to retain the AFC Champions League Elite title, doing so with ten men after defender Zakaria Al Hawsawi was sent off for a headbutt in front of 60,000 fans in Jeddah.
The victory made Jaissle the first coach to win the competition in consecutive years with the same club.
How Matthias Jaissle Wants Newcastle To Play
Jaissle's style is heavily influenced by the Red Bull coaching model he learned at Salzburg. Like many coaches, such as Ralf Rangnick, were built around winning the ball high and attacking before opponents can reset.
It's the same lineage that shaped Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel. The difference with Jaissle is he doesn’t treat the system as dogma. Al-Ahli's system changed depending on who he had available.
At Salzburg, Jaissle typically used a 4-4-2 diamond. Since taking charge of Al-Ahli in Jeddah, he has largely favoured a 4-2-3-1 to make the most of players such as Riyad Mahrez, Ivan Toney and Franck Kessie.
His willingness to adapt his system could prove valuable at Newcastle, particularly if further changes to the squad follow Anthony Gordon's departure and uncertainty over Bruno Guimaraes' future.
Newcastle have precedent for taking a chance on a manager with no Premier League background, having done exactly that with Howe five years ago. Jaissle now gets the same opportunity, arriving with two Asian titles already on his CV.
