Eddie Howe has left Newcastle after losing control of transfers and is likely to be replaced by the German coach Matthias Jaissle, who is in charge of the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli.

Although the timing of Howe’s abrupt departure after almost five years in charge at St James’ Park is unexpected, his position had been uncertain for some time. He is understood to have told Newcastle’s Saudi Arabian owners he wanted to leave more than a fortnight ago and the parting is said to be “amicable”.

Sources have suggested the 48-year-old told directors he was utterly drained and wanted to take a break from football after a transformative Tyneside tenure in which Newcastle won the League Cup in 2025 and twice qualified for the Champions League.

In recent months, Howe has become disillusioned after seeing his previously strong powerbase and ability to dictate transfer policy diminished significantly. Already this summer Ross Wilson, the third sporting director of his managerial tenure, has presided over the sale of Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali to Barcelona and Tottenham respectively. A year ago the team’s key striker Alexander Isak departed for Liverpool.

Not that Howe gave any indication of the events about to unfold when he spoke to reporters after Wednesday night’s 4-1 pre-season friendly defeat at Bristol City. “Every day as Newcastle manager is a great day for me,” he said. “I absolutely love the football club and that will never change. There has been a lot of change at the football club and potentially more to come. [But] I think there’s always reasons to be optimistic. I believe great things are possible every season. I see no reason for it be any different this year.”

On Thursday morning the Newcastle hierarchy’s negotiations with Jaissle were said to be at an advanced stage and the club’s players had a day off interrupted by news that that there would be a change of manager. Given that Al-Ahli are also owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Jaissle’s split from his club is unlikely to prove problematic.

The 38-year-old had a brief playing career as a defender with Hoffenheim and has been in charge of Al-Ahli since 2023, presiding over 90 wins, 25 draws and 23 defeats. Along the way he has won a Saudi Super Cup and two Asian Champions Leagues. In his first major head coaching role, at RB Salzburg, he won two league titles and the Austrian Cup in two seasons.

After Newcastle finished a disappointing 12th in the Premier League last season some fans were calling for Howe’s dismissal but the former Bournemouth manager appeared to have convinced PIF to offer him another chance during a high level summit meeting at a Northumberland country house hotel in April.

He is understood to have reiterated his commitment to the job after returning from holiday in June but subsequently became disenchanted by the events of a turbulent summer. Quite apart from the exits of Gordon and Tonali, it has featured doubt surrounding the future of the Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimarães, who is said to be closing in on an £80m move to Arsenal.

At Bristol City on Wednesday night, Howe admitted he had “lost control” of transfers and did not know if Guimarães would board the team’s flight to south-east Spain before a training Camp at La Manga on Friday.

While Guimarães is understood to have told Newcastle he wants to join Arsenal this summer, Howe had developed increasing reservations about a new, PIF approved, policy of signing largely young players with high resale potential priced, broadly, in the £20m-£40m bracket. With Newcastle operating under a Uefa settlement agreement, Wilson believes it is the best way to remain within football’s spending rules.

So far this summer the sporting director has recruited four promising yet inexperienced players aged 20 or under in Ewen Jaouen, Bazoumana Touré, Aladji Bamba and Sean Steur. Howe feared expectations had been raised earlier this year when his chief executive David Hopkinson claimed he wanted Newcastle to “be in the conversation” about the identity of the best clubs in the world by 2030. Howe told friends things “no longer felt right”.

Although Howe acquired a number of critics as results, increasingly, disappointed last season, he will long be remembered with affection and gratitude at St James’ Park. After succeeding Steve Bruce as manager in November 2021 he led Newcastle to two Carabao Cup finals and in winning the second – against Liverpool – last year secured the club’s first significant domestic silverware for 70 years.

With his assistant, Jason Tindall, also expected to leave, the squad are likely to be placed under the caretaker charge of first team coach, Graeme Jones, for the trip to La Manga.The club hope that Jaissle will soon join them. With the former Nottingham Forest manager Vítor Pereira poised to replace him at Al-Ahli, the expectation is that the German will take the helm well before Newcastle’s training camp concludes.