Matthias Jaissle has been officially announced as the next manager of Newcastle United following the departure of Eddie Howe after four and a half years in charge.
The Premier League club parted ways with Howe last week and moved quickly to bring in the 38-year-old German coach from reigning Asian champions Al Ahli.
Jaissle has agreed a four-year contract with Newcastle, who are reported to have agreed to pay the Saudi Pro League side £9.5 million in compensation. His first game in charge is set for next Saturday, a pre-season friendly away to Spanish side Valencia.
Howe's exit was confirmed by the club on Friday with the 48-year-old having guided Newcastle to a first domestic trophy in 70 years – after beating Liverpool in the 2025 League Cup final – and qualified for the Uefa Champions League twice in three years.
The club's Saudi Arabian owners have turned to Jaissle, whose CV includes winning the Austrian Bundesliga twice while in charge of RB Salzburg before joining Al Ahli, where he has just secured back-to-back Champions League crowns.
Below, we take a look at what will be first up in Jaissle's in-tray as he takes up the mighty challenge of building on the foundations laid by Howe and his coaching staff, while also attempting to improve on last season's disappointing 12th-place finish.
Guimaraes and Hall calls
The elephant in the room when Jaissle met his new squad was the future of midfielder Bruno Guimaraes and full-back Lewis Hall.
Following the painful loss of Alexander Isak to Liverpool less than 12 months ago, the Magpies have already suffered two body blows this summer.
England World Cup winger Anthony Gordon – the club's top scorer last season with 17 goals – completed a £69.3m switch to Barcelona, while key midfielder Sandro Tonali left for Tottenham Hotspur in a deal that could reach £100m.
Adding to Newcastle's woes, their talismanic Brazilian club captain and fan favourite Guimaraes is set to join champions Arsenal, while England international defender Hall is on the wish list of Manchester United.
While cashing in on Guimaraes at the age of 28 might make some sort of sense, losing 21-year-old Hall would not. Jaissle will need to make a quick call.
Working with young talent
Jaissle will also have to immediately get to grips with a complete change in the club's transfer policy that has put unproven young talent from other European leagues at the forefront.
Goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen (£18.5m from Reims), central midfielder Aladji Bamba (£34m from Monaco) and winger Bazoumana Toure (£42m from Hoffenheim) are all aged just 20 and have completed summer moves to St James' Park. So have midfielder Sean Steur (£23m from Ajax), even younger at 18, and another goalkeeper, Lukas Hornicek (£25.7m from Braga), who arrives in the north east of England at the grand old age of 24.
It will be down to Jaissle to immediately get the best out of players who are inexperienced in the leagues they have just left, never mind taking on the rigours of England's top flight.
Toney return to England?
While signing exciting young talent is all well and good, Jaissle knows he will need experience to survive in the Premier League.
A clear and obvious move on that front would be bringing his old Al Ahli centre-forward Ivan Toney along for the ride on Tyneside.
England international Toney, now 30, moved to the SPL from Brentford in 2024, having scored 36 goals in 83 Premier League games for the Bees.
His spell in the kingdom has been even more prolific, as he scored 72 in 93 matches — including 42 in 49 games across all competitions last season.
Newcastle's strikers last season were Nick Woltemade, Yoane Wissa and William Osula, who contributed 16 Premier League goals between them. A proven scorer such as Toney would clearly be a welcome addition.
Last summer's signings
While the drawn-out exit of Isak overshadowed last summer's transfer window for the Magpies, there is also no getting away from the fact that the vast majority of their new signings did not live up to the estimated £270m splashed out on them.
Malick Thiaw (£34m) was the sole unqualified success, while huge question marks remain over the rest. Jacob Ramsey (£43m), Anthony Elgana (£55m), Woltemade (£69m) and Wissa (£55m) all have points to prove in the coming season.
Ramsey, Elanga and Wissa are all experienced Premier League operators, and if Jaissle can help them produce the form that encouraged Newcastle to fork out such huge sums in the first place, then he could have some much-needed aces up his sleeve.
How Jaissle deals with countryman Woltemade will be interesting. The beanpole striker is only 24 and showed flashes of brilliance last season, particularly at the start, when he scored five goals in his first eight games.
Liverpool first up
Jaissle's first competitive game as Newcastle manager, at home to Liverpool on August 23, should be a memorable one for a number of reasons.
It will be an emotional day on Tyneside when 52,000 fans mourn the passing of Kevin Keegan, a hero at both clubs who played for Liverpool and Newcastle and managed the Magpies on two occasions.
Striker Isak will make his first appearance back at St James' Park since his controversial move to Merseyside. Having effectively gone on strike to force through his transfer, the Swede is guaranteed a hostile reception.
Add to this the fact that it is the first game since Howe's exit, the opening match of Jaissle's reign and that of his Liverpool counterpart, Andoni Iraola, who replaced the sacked Arne Slot in June, and you have all the elements required for a fascinating afternoon of football.
