Matthias Jaissle is ready to take over from Eddie Howe at Newcastle – after it emerged that Howe has chosen to retire. Now the club’s talks with the 38-year-old are accelerating.
Howe was originally retained by the Magpies despite a disappointing 12th-place finish last season and an 8-3 aggregate defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League. But after both Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali left the club, and with captain Bruno Guimarães constantly linked to Arsenal, Howe has informed the club that he needs a break after five years in the hot seat.
The man who got Newcastle its first trophy in 70 years is done
Howe, who led Newcastle to the club’s first trophy in 70 years, was on the bench when the team lost 4-1 to Championship club Bristol City in a friendly match.
Now the club is working to find an immediate replacement. According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, they have set their sights on Al Ahli boss Jaissle.
Who is Matthias Jaissle?
The 38-year-old has been with Al Ahli – also majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – since 2023. There he has won two Asian Champions League titles and an impressive win percentage of 65.22.
Before that, he won two Austrian Bundesliga titles with Red Bull Salzburg and led them to the Champions League group stage for the first time in the club’s history – after taking over from Jesse Marsch.
From injured stopper to top coach
As a player, Jaissle had an 11-year professional career – all the time at Hoffenheim. He was brought in from Stuttgart as an 18-year-old and experienced two promotions in a row with the club.
But the centre-back was plagued by injuries. A cruciate ligament rupture against Hannover put an end to his development, and when he was unable to return to his old level, he retired at the age of 26. He has a national cap for Germany’s U21 team.
Then Ralf Rangnick – who had signed him for Hoffenheim – intervened and gave him a chance. Rangnick invited Jaissle to a trainee program in RB Leipzig’s youth department, and his career as a coach was underway.
Rangnick pupil with a clear philosophy
Jaissle started as an assistant for Leipzig’s U16 team under Sebastian Hoeness – now Stuttgart boss. He also worked as an assistant at Brøndby before returning to the Red Bull system as coach of Salzburg’s U18 team.
He then took over reserve team FC Liefering – and when Marsch left for RB Leipzig, 33-year-old Jaissle got the chance to lead Salzburg’s first team.
As a Rangnick pupil, Jaissle is all about high pressure and fast, attacking football.
From Saudi to St. James’ Park
Jaissle was fired at Salzburg the day before the 2023/24 season started – and went to Saudi Arabia and Al Ahli. There he has managed 138 games: 90 wins, 25 draws and 23 losses.
He was briefly linked with AC Milan before Rúben Amorim got the job, and is today one of the world’s highest-paid managers – with an annual salary of a reported £9.6 million at Al Ahli.
He has a contract with Al Ahli until 2027 and has coached stars such as Riyad Mahrez, Ivan Toney and Roberto Firmino.
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Now he could be on his way to Newcastle – with a mission to create new greatness at St. James’ Park.
