Newcastle's Jaissle era begins: intensity, youth and a huge challenge

Matthias Jaissle has a hard act to follow at Newcastle United, and nobody involved with the club is pretending otherwise. "It won't be easy to succeed Eddie [Howe]," one source said. There is an element of risk here, just as there is with the club's recruitment of young foreign players. Jaissle has never managed in the Premier League, and his previous roles have come in very different football environments. The German won silverware at Red Bull Salzburg and Al-Ahli, but this is his first job in one of Europe's top five leagues. At 38, he becomes the second-youngest current head coach in the Premier League. His first test comes quickly: a competitive debut against Liverpool on Sunday, 23 August. Jaissle described the appointment as an "incredible honour" when it was confirmed on Wednesday, calling Newcastle "one of the biggest clubs in European football". "My teams are built on togetherness, hard work, intensity and a passion to improve every single day," he said. "I believe there is enormous potential within this squad and throughout the football club. I give my complete commitment and total energy to bringing further success to Newcastle United." Since arriving at Newcastle's pre-season training camp in Spain at the weekend, Jaissle has been working on understanding what the club really means to the people who follow it. "He will try to understand the culture, what Newcastle means to the community, as soon as possible," a source added. "That's what he will live by." Howe left behind a demanding standard. He took over with the club in relegation trouble, beat the drop, then delivered the EFL Cup in 2025, ending a long wait for a trophy, and secured multiple Champions League qualifications. But the final season of his reign was painful. Newcastle finished 12th, and within a year the club had watched Alexander Isak, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon all leave. Captain Bruno Guimaraes is now expected to follow them to Arsenal. Newcastle need someone to begin a new cycle, and Jaissle's job will be to develop young players while competing against clubs who spend far more. Those who have worked with him expect the same intensity Howe brought to training. Zlatko Junuzovic, a former Salzburg midfielder, remembers small-sided games designed to keep the level high. "If someone had not been giving it their all, he called them out on it," he said. "He's not afraid to address things head-on." Al-Ahli defender Merih Demiral saw the same qualities up close. "Looking forward to going to training every day was so important," he said. "They paid great attention to every detail and always made sure we were fully prepared. Matthias has built a really strong team around him and they played a huge role in our success." The squad Jaissle inherits is noticeably younger than the one Howe worked with last season, but the German will still lean on experienced dressing-room figures like Dan Burn and Fabian Schar. As a former Hoffenheim defender, Jaissle is not far removed from the players he now manages. He was only a few months younger than Junuzovic when he took charge at Salzburg in 2021, and he showed no hesitation in telling the midfielder that he would struggle to keep up with the younger players in the squad. The challenge came with a promise: improve and you will play. Junuzovic did. "He kept his word," he said. "He understands the players' language." The results since Jaissle left Salzburg say plenty. The Austrian club have not won the league since his departure, after he claimed two successive titles, and have not reached the Champions League knockout stage again despite doing so for the first time in their history under him in 2022 before a heavy 8-1 aggregate loss to Bayern Munich in the last 16. At Al-Ahli, he adapted to a different group of players and won back-to-back Asian Champions League titles. Now he must adapt to the Premier League. The expectation comes with the job.