As expected, Matthias Jaissle is moving from Saudi Arabia to the Premier League, where he will take over at Newcastle United as Eddie Howe’s successor. The newly wealthy, traditional club even considers him worth a transfer fee.
Al-Ahli isn’t willing to let a man like Matthias Jaissle—who led the club to two Asian Champions League titles—go just like that. According to media reports, Newcastle United is therefore paying a transfer fee of around 11 million euros for the successor to Eddie Howe, who stepped down of his own accord. In return, the former Hoffenheim pro is signing a long-term contract—likely through 2030—in the northeast of England.
Alongside Fabian Hürzeler (Brighton & Hove Albion), Daniel Farke (Leeds United, previously Norwich City), and Marco Rose, who has taken over at AFC Bournemouth, Jaissle is now the fourth German coach in the Premier League. Previously, Felix Magath (FC Fulham), David Wagner, Jan Siewert (both Huddersfield Town), Ralf Rangnick (Manchester United), Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea FC), and, of course, Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool FC).
“Matthias is one of the most exciting and highly regarded young coaches in soccer, and I’m very pleased to welcome him to Newcastle United,” enthuses CEO David Hopkinson: “We conducted a thorough selection process, and he emerged as the clear favorite for this position. He possesses all the qualities we were looking for.”
After Tonali and Gordon, will Guimaraes be next?
The 38-year-old Jaissle is a product of the so-called RB School of coaching. He began his career in the youth system in Leipzig in 2015, where he served as an assistant to Sebastian Hoeneß. As Alexander Zorniger’s assistant, he worked at Brøndby IF in Denmark from 2017 to 2019; after a stint with the reserve team FC Liefering, he moved on to Red Bull Salzburg—and then to Saudi Arabia in 2023. With Salzburg, Jaissle won the domestic double and two league titles; he most recently secured even bigger titles with Al-Ahli.
In Newcastle, Jaissle takes over a team that finished 12th in the standings last season—a squad that needs fresh input and renewed passion despite having reached the Champions League knockout stage (where they were eliminated in the Round of 16 by FC Barcelona). However, the Magpies lost two key players this summer in Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon, and Bruno Guimaraes is also threatening to leave.