Eddie Howe is set to continue as Newcastle United’s manager into the next season, with the club’s Saudi Arabian owners affirming their confidence in his leadership despite the team’s struggles this season, per Luke Edwards of The Telegraph.
Edwards shared this report on Tuesday, following the loss of Newcastle at Chelsea, 3-2, on Monday that left the Magpies sitting in 10th place in the Premier League table and facing a steep hill climb toward a top-seven finish that would at least have the club playing low-level continental football next season.
Under Howe’s management, Newcastle first avoided relegation and then surged all the way through the Premier League last season to finish in fourth position and clinch a Champions League berth for the first time in 20 years. This season, however, the regression has been massive with NUFC already out of all competitions except the FA Cup (quarter-finals matchup at Man City on Saturday) and struggling to get past the middle of the table in the league in a rather mediocre campaign.
Even then, however, it looks like PIF and the board of Newcastle are still in full support of Howe, who reportedly won’t be sacked ahead of next season and will instead retain his position for the start of the next campaign. It’s worth noting that Howe signed an undisclosed “long-term contract” in 2022, and it feels like his security as the manager of Newcastle is not linked to the team’s qualification for European competitions at all, per Edwards.
Most recently, Howe dismissed rumors of potentially being replaced by Germany’s national team coach, Julian Nagelsmann, labeling them “speculative” while affirming those whispers were “not distracting” to him.
The club’s ownership, according to Edwards’s information, is reportedly planning a significant revamp of the first-team squad during the summer transfer window to improve the performance on the pitch and the results next season, although they are also expected to sell some players—most probably Bruno and also Joelinton if the latter cannot agree to terms for a contract extension through next August.
Newcastle’s aspirations for European football this season are still alive, mind you, although more than clinching it by finishing in the top seven of the Premier League, it might be more feasible for the Magpies to focus on making a winning FA Cup run to get there. They are already in the quarter-finals but they will have to beat Manchester City on Saturday to punch a ticket for the one-game semi-finals that will be played at Wembley Stadium in London.
The main criticism of Howe this season is linked to the team’s underwhelming play and unresolved defensive issues, mostly in games played away from Newcastle. That said, it sounds like the owners of NUFC also consider the many injuries impacting the first-team squad since the start of the season as a reason for the team’s struggles, which might be giving Howe some credit in their eyes.
According to Edwards, it’s probable that longstanding Magpies such as Sean Longstaff, Miguel Almiron, and Jacob Murphy get sold next summer to balance the books, while the sale of Bruno (who has a €100 million release clause that will most certainly get triggered by some European club) is also likely.
Howe, however, will certainly welcome back suspended Sandro Tonali. The Italy international won’t be allowed to play for his nation in the Euro 2024 tournament but he will be back training with the club in August and getting ready for next season. That, along with a healthy squad and a few transfers arriving in Tyneside should be enough for Howe to improve on this year’s results.
If he hasn’t done that by December, however, PIF might start to run out of patience and a sacking could come before Christmas next winter.
Leave a Reply