The Magipies are expected to appoint Eddie Howe as their new senior team manager after agreeing a deal in principle with the former Bournemouth boss – reports The Athletic. Howe will assume the vacant position in the coming days, following Newcastle’s long, drawn-out managerial search that almost yielded a very different result.
Newcastle were reportedly close to an agreement with the current Villarreal and former Arsenal boss Unai Emery, only for the Spaniard to turn them down at the eleventh hour.
The Spaniard was supposedly the owners’ top choice for the vacant position – which Graeme Jones held on an interim basis for the time being – but the manager confirmed he would be staying at Villarreal via a lengthy social media post.
“Villarreal CF is my home and I am 100% committed,”
“Honestly, I am grateful for the interest of a great club but even more grateful to be here and that is why I communicated to [the club president] Fernando Roig my decision to want to continue being part of this project because of the commitment and respect that I perceive from the club and from my players, which is mutual and reciprocal.”
Emery said.
Howe, reportedly the first alternative to Emery, is now expected to take up the job after agreeing to a two-and-a-half-year contract with Newcastle in principle. The Englishman has plenty of top-flight experience as the manager of Bournemouth, whom he led to the Premier League in 2015 and kept there till 2020. He left the clubby mutual consent upon their relegation back to the Championship in 2020 and has been without a job since.
A tough task ahead awaits Howe, should he take up the role, with Newcastle languishing second from the bottom in the Premier League. The Magpies are without a win this season – losing six and drawing four of their ten matches so far – and will face high-flyers Brighton, Brentford, and Arsenal in their next three league games.
