Eddie Howe's near five-year spell as Newcastle United has come to an end after leaving his position in the St James' Park dugout.
The 48-year-old oversaw the start of a new era at Newcastle under the stewardship of new owners, guiding the club to UEFA Champions League qualification on two occasions and ending the Magpies' 70-year wait for a trophy in 2024/25 -- defeating Liverpool at Wembley to win the EFL Cup.
The 2025/26 term marked his worst in charge at Newcastle however, crashing out of the UEFA Champions League in the round of 16 and finishing in the bottom half of the Premier League for the first time since the 2021/22 campaign.
Matthias Jaissle is in line to replace Howe at St James' Park, and we tell you everything you need to know about the German manager.
Background & achievements
Jaissle plied his trade as a professional player before making his first steps into management -- representing German outfit Hoffenheim on 65 occasions -- but he retired at just 26 as a result of chronic knee problems, which significantly hindered his career.
In the immediate aftermath of his retirement, he oversaw respective youth jobs at RB Leipzig, before being confirmed as the assistant manager to Alexander Zorniger at Danish Superliga outfit Brondby.
Jaissle was highly respected in Denmark, proving a valuable member on the coaching staff during Brondby's 2017/18 success -- where they trumped Midtjylland to the league title on goal difference.
July of 2019 saw him become FC Red Bull Salzburg's U18 manager, where he would oversee the setup for 18 months before taking his first head coach role with Austrian outfit FC Liefering.
He left the club just five months into his tenue after being approached by Red Bull Salzburg to become the first team manager, an almighty achievement given that he was in charge of the U18s a matter of months prior.
Jaissle oversaw a remarkable spell at the Red Bull Arena, winning back-to-back Austrian Bundesligas, an Austrian Cup and guiding them to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 for the first time in the club's history in 2021/22.
Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ahli came calling in 2023 following his release at Salzburg and with an understatedly lucrative amount of money on the table, he took the job.
Jaissle has taken the Middle Eastern side to new heights too, winning successive AFC Champions League Elite honours and the Saudi Super Cup. In winning back-to-back AFC Champions League Elite trophies, Al-Ahli became the fifth team to win the competition consecutively.
Honours
Red Bull Salzburg
- Austrian Bundesliga: 2021/22, 2022/23
- Austrian Cup: 2021/22
Al-Ahli
AFC Champions League Elite: 2024/25, 2025/26
Saudi Super Cup: 2025
Formation, tactics & style of play
Jaissle's style of play coincides with the suffocating pressing philosophy of the Red Bull school, deeply influenced by the work of former Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick.
He likes his team to counter-press in an aggressive manner as soon as they lose the ball, essentially smothering their opponents in an attempt to win the ball back as high up the pitch as possible.
In possession, Jaissle's team are direct and fluid, prioritising rapid transitions and overloads in wide areas.
The German prefers his team to have more meaningful attacks than long spells of safe possessions, bringing about end-to-end games with lots of goals.
Jaissle favours a 4-4-2 diamond (4-3-1-2), which often becomes a 3-2-5 in possession with his full-backs providing the width. He's by no means stubborn when it comes to changing his formation however, frequently employing a 4-2-3-1 setup during his time at Salzburg.
His high-energy style of play should resonate well with Newcastle fans, who have been used to this kind of football under the stewardship of Howe.
