Newcastle set to bring in Matthias Jaissle to work alongside Nick Woltemade | OneFootball

German head coach Matthias Jaissle appears poised to return to European football, with the 38-year-old in advanced talks to replace Eddie Howe at Newcastle United. Howe has reportedly informed the Premier League club of his desire to take an immediate break from professional football. Newcastle are prepared to accept the Englishman’s request, with Jaissle emerging as the leading candidate to assume control shortly before the beginning of the new campaign.

The proposed transition should be relatively straightforward from an administrative perspective. Newcastle and Jaissle’s present club, Al-Ahli, are both majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Jaissle remains under contract in Jeddah after extending his deal in September 2025, but the shared ownership structure may help the two clubs find a swift solution.

Jaissle has been off the continent since joining Al-Ahli in 2023.

Who is Matthias Jaissle?

Jaissle was born in Nürtingen, Baden-Württemberg, in April 1988. The former central defender spent five years in VfB Stuttgart’s youth system before moving to Hoffenheim in 2006.

His arrival coincided with one of the most dramatic ascents in modern German football. Jaissle helped Hoffenheim climb through the divisions and became a Bundesliga player under Ralf Rangnick. The defender made 22 appearances in Germany’s second tier and another 31 in the Bundesliga, earning recognition as one of the promising young members of Hoffenheim’s ambitious project.

Serious knee problems ultimately prevented Jaissle from enjoying the lengthy playing career once anticipated for him. He suffered a cruciate-ligament tear in March 2009 and continued to struggle with injuries thereafter. Jaissle eventually retired in 2014, still only 25 years old.

The premature conclusion of his playing career accelerated his move into coaching. Jaissle joined RB Leipzig’s youth structure shortly after retiring and worked with the club’s under-17 side until 2017. Much like former German national team head coach Julian Nagelsmann, Jaissle is considered a disciple of German footballing heavyweight Ralf Rangnick.

That move placed him inside the Red Bull footballing network and enabled him to learn within an environment focused on aggressive pressing, direct attacking football and the accelerated development of young players. The pathway also established professional relationships that would later prove decisive in Austria.

Jaissle temporarily left the German-speaking footballing world in 2017 to work as Alexander Zorniger’s assistant at Brøndby. The Danish spell provided his first experience abroad before he returned to the Red Bull organization with Salzburg in 2019.

The German initially took charge of Salzburg’s under-18s. He then received his first senior head-coaching position with feeder club FC Liefering in January 2021.

Liefering traditionally serves as the final bridge between Salzburg’s academy and the Austrian champions’ senior side. Jaissle’s brief stint there demonstrated his ability to work with elite prospects and prepared him for a remarkably swift promotion.

Salzburg appointed Jaissle as Jesse Marsch’s successor in the summer of 2021. The then-33-year-old had never previously coached a top-flight team, but immediately established himself as one of German-speaking football’s most successful young head coaches.

Jaissle’s success at Red Bull Salzburg

Jaissle won the Austrian league-and-cup double during his first season in charge. Salzburg dominated domestically while also reaching the Champions League knockout rounds for the first time in club history.

His young team collected seven points from their opening three group-stage fixtures and eventually advanced behind Lille. Salzburg’s European run ended against Bayern Munich in the round of 16, but reaching that stage represented a significant achievement for both the club and its inexperienced coach.

The 2021/22 campaign also reinforced Jaissle’s reputation as a trainer capable of trusting young players in high-pressure situations. Salzburg began the season with one of Europe’s youngest squads and continued to promote academy graduates while competing successfully on three fronts.

Jaissle was subsequently voted Austria’s Coach of the Season. He later retained the Salzburg regional Coach of the Year award after securing another Austrian Bundesliga title in 2022/23.

His Salzburg work repeatedly placed him on Bundesliga shortlists. Jaissle was considered a potential Leipzig head coach following Marsch’s departure in December 2021. Eintracht Frankfurt later explored his candidacy as a possible Oliver Glasner successor, while Wolfsburg also considered him during their search for a replacement for Niko Kovač.

A return to Germany always appeared logical. Jaissle possessed Bundesliga playing experience, spoke the language and had already succeeded within a coaching model familiar to several German clubs.

No Bundesliga appointment ultimately materialized. Jaissle instead made the surprising decision to leave Salzburg for Al-Ahli in 2023.

Jaissle strengthens reputation with Al-Ahli

The move to Saudi Arabia temporarily removed Jaissle from the European coaching market, but did not halt his development.

Jaissle guided Al-Ahli to their first AFC Champions League Elite title in 2025. The Saudi club completed the continental campaign unbeaten and defeated Kawasaki Frontale 2-0 in the final.

Al-Ahli successfully defended the title one year later, defeating Machida Zelvia after extra time. Jaissle thus became the first coach to win Asia’s premier club competition in consecutive seasons with the same team.

His work in Jeddah also retained a notable Bundesliga connection. Jaissle helped recruit former VfB Stuttgart midfielder Enzo Millot, publicly praising the Frenchman’s tactical intelligence, technical quality and development in German football.

The Newcastle opportunity would now offer Jaissle the major European assignment repeatedly predicted for him during his Salzburg years.

He remains strongly associated with the Red Bull school, but his success in Saudi Arabia demonstrates that his résumé now extends beyond one footballing structure. Jaissle has managed experienced international stars, dealt with considerable expectations and delivered consecutive continental titles.

Newcastle must still finalize the agreement with both Jaissle and Al-Ahli. All available reports nevertheless indicate that the German is the preferred successor and that negotiations have reached an advanced stage.

Should the appointment proceed, Jaissle will arrive in England carrying considerably more experience than when Bundesliga clubs first began considering him several years ago.

His journey from Stuttgart and Hoffenheim through Leipzig, Liefering and Salzburg has prepared him thoroughly within German-speaking football. His success with Al-Ahli has now supplied the trophies and international credibility necessary for the most demanding assignment of his coaching career.

One assumes that Nick Woltemade’s presence at Newcastle plays a role in the Premier League club’s decision to recruit him. In that context at least, the appointment makes a great deal of sense. 

GGFN | Peter Weis