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Matthias Jaissle has taken over as Newcastle manager in place of Eddie Howe, with the new Premier League season now only two weeks away.

Howe stepped down as Magpies head coach last week after five years in charge, with the 48-year-old Englishman wanting to take a break from football. Newcastle were beaten 4-1 by Bristol City in a pre-season fixture on Wednesday.

Howe departs with significant credit after leading Newcastle to their first major trophy in 70 years by winning the 2025 Carabao Cup. He also took the north-east club into the Champions League last 16 last season.

But Howe has now been succeeded by the relatively little-known German coach Jaissle, who must make an immediate impact with only 17 days remaining before Newcastle begin their Premier League campaign against Liverpool at St James’ Park.

The 38-year-old German is a two-time Asian Champions League winner with Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli, a side majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the same majority owner as Newcastle.

Jaissle has been in charge of Al-Ahli since 2023, overseeing a squad featuring players such as Ivan Toney and Edouard Mendy, and he also lifted the Saudi Super Cup in 2025.

Before that, he spent two seasons coaching Red Bull Salzburg, winning back-to-back Austrian Bundesliga titles as well as the Austrian Cup after replacing former Leeds manager Jesse Marsch. He also guided Salzburg into the Champions League knockout stage.

Jaissle landed the Salzburg role just four months after taking Liefering to second place in Austria’s second division. Before that, he had been manager of Red Bull Salzburg’s Under-18 academy side.

Jaissle, 38, has coached Al-Ahli since 2023.

As a player, Jaissle had a modest career. He spent seven years as a centre-back with Hoffenheim, but an ACL injury in 2009 led to his retirement at the age of 25 after he had made only 68 league appearances. He also won one cap for Germany Under-21s.

The German began his career in the youth ranks at VfB Stuttgart, where he was coached by Thomas Tuchel, with whom he remains close friends. Many believe that connection played a key role in Ivan Toney being selected for England’s World Cup squad.

His coaching approach is based on high-intensity, attacking football and, having come through the Red Bull system, he regards former Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick as an important influence.

“I want stress on the opponent as soon as possible,” he said in an interview in January. “And when we win the ball, I want to go as quickly as possible towards the opponent’s goal.

“I’m very vertical in that approach.”

The most obvious connection is that PIF own both Newcastle and Al-Ahli.

Even so, Jaissle has developed a strong reputation as one of the leading young coaches in world football, having collected trophies and delivered success at every stop. His spell at RB Salzburg was especially impressive before he moved to Saudi Arabia and became the first coach ever to win successive Asian Champions League titles.

It does, however, mark a major change from Newcastle’s previous three managers, all of whom were English: Howe, Graeme Jones in an interim role, and Steve Bruce.

Indeed, this is the first time Newcastle have appointed a German manager in their history, and only the third time they have turned to a coach from outside Britain and Ireland.

Newcastle are next due to play on Saturday 8 August in a friendly against Valencia, before their final pre-season matches against Everton, Bayer Leverkusen and Strasbourg.

Jaissle had earlier led Red Bull Salzburg to consecutive Austrian Bundesliga titles.