Newcastle United have moved quickly to fill the void left by Eddie Howe, appointing Al-Ahli's Matthias Jaissle as their new head coach just over two weeks before the start of the Premier League season. The switch comes at an awkward time for the club, who were beaten 4-1 by Bristol City in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday and now face a scramble to prepare for their opening league fixture against Liverpool at St James' Park.
Howe's departure last week ended a five-year spell at the helm that will be remembered fondly on Tyneside. Under his stewardship, Newcastle secured their first major trophy in seven decades by lifting the Carabao Cup in 2025, and he also steered the team into the last 16 of the Champions League. The 48-year-old is reportedly stepping away from the game for a period of rest.
His successor is far less familiar to English football followers. Jaissle, 38, arrives in the North East having built an impressive résumé in Saudi Arabia and Austria, though he has never previously worked in the Premier League or, indeed, outside those two countries as a senior manager.
The German has spent the past two seasons at Al-Ahli, the Saudi Pro League club that, like Newcastle, is majority owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. That shared ownership structure is widely seen as the driving force behind his move to St James' Park. At Al-Ahli, where he has managed high-profile names including Ivan Toney and Edouard Mendy, Jaissle became the first coach in history to win back-to-back AFC Champions League titles, and he added the Saudi Super Cup to his collection earlier this year.
Before his switch to the Middle East, Jaissle enjoyed considerable success with Red Bull Salzburg, taking charge in 2021 after replacing former Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch. He won consecutive Austrian Bundesliga titles as well as the Austrian Cup, and also guided Salzburg into the Champions League knockout stages. That appointment itself was something of a leap of faith by Salzburg, given Jaissle had only just finished guiding second-tier side Liefering to a runners-up finish, having previously worked as coach of Salzburg's Under-18 side.
As a player, Jaissle's career was cut short by injury. A centre-back by trade, he spent seven years with Hoffenheim but made only 68 league appearances before a torn ACL forced his retirement at the age of 25. He did earn a single cap for Germany's Under-21 side during his playing days.
Jaissle began his football education in the Stuttgart academy, where he was coached by Thomas Tuchel — a relationship that has grown into a close friendship over the years. That connection is said to have played a part in Toney's inclusion in England's World Cup squad. Tactically, Jaissle favours an intense, vertical style of attacking football, drawing inspiration from Ralf Rangnick and the wider Red Bull coaching philosophy.
"I want stress on the opponent as soon as possible," Jaissle said in an interview earlier this year. "And when we win the ball, I want to go as quickly as possible towards the opponent's goal. I'm very vertical in that approach."
His arrival marks a notable departure for Newcastle, whose past three managers — Howe, interim boss Graeme Jones and Steve Bruce — were all English. Jaissle becomes the club's first-ever German manager and only the third non-British or Irish figure to take charge of the first team.
Newcastle's pre-season schedule continues on Saturday, August 8, against Valencia, followed by further warm-up matches against Everton, Bayer Leverkusen and Strasbourg as Jaissle races against time to prepare his squad for the Premier League opener.
Based on reporting from The Independent.