Eddie Howe’s exit threatens to put Saudi project back where it began with financially hand-cuffed Toon forced to rebuild

EDDIE HOWE admitted he had lost control on Wednesday before finally conceding defeat hours later. And with on-pitch leader, skipper Bruno Guimaraes, also pushing to go, has the world’s richest club lost it too? Eddie Howe announced his departure from Newcastle on Thursday morning Credit: Reuters The North East outfit have struggled financially despite the Middle East’s cheque book Credit: Newcastle United via Getty Image For all their wealth, football’s financial rules have proven to be one thing that unlimited wealth from the Middle East has not been able to blow out the water with cheque books. They also remain powerless to stop the so-called elite from picking off their best players. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! Howe’s exit is a pivotal moment on and off the pitch at Newcastle. And it could have put the whole Saudi Public Investment Fund’s Toon project right back where it began. For all the celebrations regarding the 2021 takeover, it is now at a major crossroads. And German Matthias Jaissle faces one heck of a job getting it back on track. While new stadium plans and a plush new training complex continue to be worked on behind the scenes, financial constraints have the club hand-cuffed on the field. And with big name after big name scrambling to jump ship, a major reset is occurring. Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Jaissle has been tasked with leading the ambitious and youthful new project. But it will take some job to replicate the success of the man whose boots he is filling. Howe, who twice got the Mags to the brink of cracking the big time, was fighting a losing battle on Tyneside from the moment Alexander Isak went on strike last year. It should have been all stations go after securing Newcastle’s first major trophy for 70 years and qualifying for the Champions League for the second time in three years. But instead the clouds were gathering before the almighty storm of what transpired to be his final year at the helm. Hopes of building on the Carabao Cup triumph and mounting a title challenge went out the door with Isak’s eventual British record £125m move to Liverpool. A host of players bought with that cash – in a window Howe was forced to operate without a sporting director – flopped. And without his Swedish hitman firing them in, Newcastle dropped. Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali have already left this summer with others also rumoured to go Credit: Getty EDDIE HOWE'S RECORD AT NEWCASTLE EDDIE HOWE will forever be a Newcastle legend after leading the Toon to their first trophy in 70 years. But that Carabao Cup win, and two Champions League qualifications, weren’t enough to keep everyone happy on Tyneside. Here is Howe’s Newcastle record: Premier League 2021-22 – 11th (19th when he took over) 2022-23 – 4th 2023-24 – 7th 2024-25 – 5th 2025-26 – 12th Trophies won Carabao Cup 2024-25 Belief that the mega-rich Saudi PIF owners could bankroll a new star-studded team this summer evaporated as the Mags entered a settlement agreement with Uefa for breaching their financial rules. Last term’s top scorer Anthony Gordon was sold to Barcelona for £75m last month before Italian midfielder Sandro Tonali was flogged to Tottenham in a £100m deal. Now with Brazilian captain Guimaraes wanting out to Arsenal, the game is finally up for Howe on Tyneside, who realised the departure of a fourth prominent player left him without the ability to meet expectations. Manchester United are also lurking for Lewis Hall too, the left-back who thrived under mentor Howe and shared an agent with his now old boss. And from the outside in, a few more could go before next month’s big Premier League kick off. Discussing Guimaraes after the dismal 4-1 pre-season loss at Bristol City, Howe admitted: “We can’t control the forces that are at play here.” Hours later he knew it was all over, informing both his staff and the club of his desire to go and take a break from football. The last six months have been a headache. Alexander Isak’s move to Liverpool last summer caused a massive stir Credit: PA Lewis Hall is another who has been tipped to leave St James’ Park Credit: Getty Against the backdrop of a depleted squad and performances dropping, the pressure continued to be piled on by PIF and CEO Hopkinson, continuously declaring the target to be challenging the planet’s best within four years. The Mags missed out on Europe and Howe knew what was coming as the vultures began to circle around his top talents. He considered his own future too as he got to grips with the club’s new transfer policy of targeting young, unproven talents they could hopefully polish into gems. He opted to give it a go. His big guns headed off, four players brought in as replacements were all aged 20 and under, and the realisation eventually dawned on him. It was time to go. The baton has now been handed over. Whether Jaissle, currently managing Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli (also owned by PIF) but set to replace Howe, can meet Hopkinson’s expectation to be title challengers by 2030 remains to be seen. Matthias Jaissle looks set to be the next Newcastle boss Credit: Getty Newcastle fans will be hoping for good news as they brace for the start of the season Credit: Getty Hopkinson is chipping away, bringing in sponsorship deals with Knox, to improve financials. Meanwhile sporting director Ross Wilson continues to scour the planet for more young, rough stones to hopefully turn into sparkling gems. But for now, and more importantly for fans that are already fed up of waiting for news on a future stadium, it is on the pitch where it matters. And it will be down to 38-year-old Jaissle to prove with his assembled squad of kids and old Geordie veterans like Dan Burn that, nearly five years into the grand Saudi experiment, momentum has not truly ground to a dead halt. Comment now