Newcastle will fight to keep Eddie Howe despite the vacancy in England, stresses the club CEO

July 16, 2024

Newcastle United “love” Eddie Howe and will fight to keep their head coach if the FA appoints him as the next England manager, the club’s CEO Darren Eales insists.

Gareth Southgate resigned as England manager following the defeat to Spain in the 2024 European Championship final, ending his eight-year reign.

Howe has long been admired by the FA and is expected to be at the top of the shortlist for the next national team manager.

However, Newcastle view Howe as part of the club’s “long-term future” and believe the club is protected by the lack of a fixed release clause in the “multi-year” contract extension the head coach secretly signed last summer after leading the club to fourth place and Champions League qualification.

“Yes, absolutely,” said Eales when asked if Newcastle would “fight” to keep Howe, despite what he himself called “speculation” given there had been no contact. “I don’t want to talk about hypotheticals, so let me just step back and go. At the start of a new season, Eddie has done a brilliant job for us as a club.

“I’ve been lucky enough to work with Eddie and see how he’s very hands-on in the day-to-day and in terms of personnel management on the pitch. He’s a great player developer. He understands the psyche of the club, Newcastle and the fans. We’ve seen that in the way the team and the fans have this affinity with each other.

“For us, he is exactly the right man for the project we are pursuing at Newcastle United and that is why we have committed to a long-term contract with him. That is why we believe he is the right man for Newcastle. We love him.”

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There have been “no recent discussions” between Eales and Howe about the head coach position, the CEO admits, although both attended Newcastle’s pre-season camp at Adidas headquarters in Germany.

However, the head coach is “committed and focused on the coming season,” says Eales, and has planned the new season with Paul Mitchell, the new sporting director.

Newcastle suspended their sporting director Dan Ashworth in February and only sold him to Manchester United after agreeing compensation. Eales is adamant that the club will insist on fair compensation should the FA sign Howe and the head coach decide to move on.

“It’s hypothetical, but he has a multi-year contract, there is no set amount (for compensation). He is our employee and from that perspective we don’t want to fire Eddie for all the reasons I’ve mentioned,” Eales said.

“He is a top coach, he is the right coach for Newcastle United at the right time and he is the coach with whom we want to lead the club into the future.”

When asked if he expected Howe to be in the dugout for the opening game of the 2024–25 Premier League season against Southampton on August 17, Eales said: “Absolutely, yes.”

When asked whether there was a “succession plan” in Newcastle in the event of Howe’s departure, Eales was non-committal but hinted that there was one.

“It’s one of those things you never want to use,” said Eales. “If you’re organised, you have to think about it. But right now we’re focused on pre-season and the big season ahead for Newcastle United.”