Eddie Howe is set to remain Newcastle United head coach beyond the current season.
Barring an unexpected turn of events, the 48-year-old — who is keen to remain at St James’ Park and retains support from the club’s ownership and hierarchy — will be in charge going into the 2026-27 campaign.
It follows club talks this week which included a 25-strong delegation from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Newcastle’s majority owner, in a series of annual meetings at Matfen Hall in Northumberland.
All parties have acknowledged this season has not been good enough and cannot be repeated, but the talks are believed to have gone well and brought consensus on the head coach’s future.
Despite a downturn in results this campaign, Newcastle’s ownership have balanced this out with multiple qualifications for the Champions League and ending the club’s trophy drought last season across his four full seasons in charge.
Howe was appointed in November 2021, when Newcastle were 19th in the Premier League, after a consortium led by PIF completed its takeover of the club.
He initially led Newcastle to top-flight safety before overseeing Champions League qualifications via a fourth-place league finish in 2022-23 and a top-five placing two seasons later, when Newcastle also won their first major domestic trophy since 1955 with victory in the Carabao Cup.
This campaign, however, has seen a downturn in results. Newcastle are 13th in the Premier League, and exited the Champions League at the last-16 stage with an 8-3 aggregate defeat to Barcelona. The 3-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday was Newcastle’s first victory in six games in all competitions, and ended a run of four successive league defeats.
Newcastle CEO David Hopkinson said the club were not considering a managerial change “at the moment” following March’s defeat at home to rivals Sunderland, which was followed by further league losses to Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Arsenal.
No Premier League side has dropped more points (25) from winning positions in matches this season than Howe’s side while no team has picked up fewer points (3) from losing positions than Newcastle.
Results this season have raised questions over the long-term future of Howe, who had signed new contracts in 2022 and 2023.
On April 13, The Athletic reported Newcastle’s ownership continued to support Howe with all parties intending to evaluate the managerial situation this summer.
Howe’s coaching career began at Bournemouth, where he spent the majority of his playing career, whom he led from League Two — the fourth tier of English football — to the Premier League, across two spells in charge.
The former centre-back was first appointed at the south-coast club in December 2008 and departed at the end of the 2019-20 season, having had a 21-month spell in charge of Burnley in the Championship between 2011 and 2012.
Newcastle conclude their 2025-26 campaign with games against Nottingham Forest, West Ham United and Fulham.
Howe has backing, but results must improve
Analysis by The Athletic’s Newcastle United correspondent Chris Waugh
This has been the preferred outcome throughout the past few months for all parties, with the hierarchy keen for continuity and Howe determined to continue into the summer, when the head coach is confident he can oversee a rebuild and then deliver a better Premier League performance next season.
The Matfen Hall meetings were never solely about Howe, but his discussions with the ownership were important and it was reassuring for the head coach that he received their support.
However, despite the shared sentiment that ideally everyone wanted Howe to continue, a win on Saturday was absolutely essential. Howe needs fan backing, with his style of football thriving on unity across the club, and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the chairman, heard the head coach’s name chanted by a significant portion of the crowd.
Three successive defeats in Newcastle’s final three games would potentially force a re-evaluation, particularly if performances drop, but it now feels as if there is something from which Howe can build.
One win alone does not extinguish the growing concerns among sections of the fanbase and Howe will find moving forwards that patience is likely to be shorter among supporters. Yet the huge success he has delivered over the previous four years means that there is a want from everyone associated with the club for Howe to prosper once more.
Seemingly, he is going to get the opportunity to rediscover past glories in 2026-27, albeit with a likely much-changed side. Certainly, Newcastle cannot afford another transfer window like last summer; improving the XI is essential.
