Newcastle United owners – Key announcements now expected | OneFootball

The Newcastle United owners assembled on Tyneside last weekend.

The board of directors gathering in Newcastle Upon Tyne ahead of the match against Liverpool.

Chairman of Newcastle United, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, heading up the 85% majority Saudi Arabia PIF contingent.

With Jamie Reuben the lead director representing the minority 15% Reuben family ownership.

It was a second home match in a row where we had seen the Newcastle United owners all gather.

When Newcastle United confirmed their Champions League place, despite defeat to Everton, in May. The Newcastle United owners met Eddie Howe after the match to discuss transfer market plans moving forward.

As we all know, when they reconvened on Tyneside last weekend, a well-publicised meeting was held between the Newcastle United owners and Alexander Isak on Monday. Newcastle United director Jacobo Solis headed up those from Saudi Arabia PIF at the meeting, whilst Jamie Reuben led the Reuben family presence at the meeting.

The universal reaction of the more reliable journalists who regularly cover Newcastle United, was that Alexander Isak had made clear he still wants to leave, whilst the Newcastle United owners have no intention of agreeing to that happening.

There have been claims that Alexander Isak isn’t happy about a lack of progress at the club in a number of areas, what he was supposedly led to believe when he signed in August 2022.

Whether you believe that is part of Isak’s unhappiness or not, it is fair to say that from the outside, it looks all a bit of a shambles inside St James’ Park currently.

Without Eddie Howe holding it all together, where would we be? More pointedly, where would the Newcastle United owners be?

By far their best decision across these past four years has been the appointment of Eddie Howe, who only got the job because Unai Emery turned it down, due to the fact Villarreal were in the middle of their first ever Champions League campaign (they ended up getting to the semi-finals) after the Spanish club had won the first ever trophy (Europa League ) in their entire history to qualify the previous season.

Eddie Howe has done an unbelievable job, on and off the pitch, at no time more so than this summer.

It is time now for the Newcastle United owners to have this club move out of a state of chaos.

Not only that, but to put key things in place to allow the club to properly move forward, to progress, to compete long-term, on and off the pitch.

Key announcements expected from the Newcastle United owners, some expected earlier than others…

Alexander Isak

This is a forced announcement, the Newcastle United owners have no choice but to make it.

Exactly what words, if any, will go with this ‘announcement’, remains to be seen. Whichever way the announcement falls.

By 7pm at the latest on Monday 1 September 2025, we will find out if Alexander Isak is a Newcastle United player or not this season.

What follows on from that decision either way, is another matter (Will Isak be able to, be willing to, be reintegrated into the NUFC squad/team, if staying. If he does go, which striker will be signed to join Nick Woltemade at St James’ Park? As surely no way that Eddie Howe will be left with just the one proven goalscoring option up front).

However, that is a huge announcement that we are all waiting for.

CEO

It is now more than eleven months since the announcement that Darren Eales was being forced to step down as the NUFC CEO (Chief Executive Officer) due to having been diagnosed with a chronic form of blood cancer. The announcement in September 2024 stated that in the ‘short-term’ Eales would hold the fort until a replacement was identified.

It is unbelievable really, that no replacement has been announced, surely that must happen imminently, surely? Nothing has been said by the Newcastle United owners but it has been made quite clear that this summer, Darren Eales is no longer holding the fort. So a new CEO has to be in place ASAP.

Sporting Director

To put into perspective how long it is taking to announce a new CEO. Darren Eales was responsible for appointing his friend and former work colleague, Paul Mitchell. Mitchell lasted less time in the Sporting Director role than the amount of time we have been waiting for Darren Eales’ replacement as CEO.

Mitchell left at the end of the 2024/25 season but I take it that the Newcastle United owners had known long before the formal announcement, that Paul Mitchell would be leaving.

For Newcastle United to have operated all summer without either a CEO or Sporting Director, is pretty unbelievable. Especially when we all knew what a key period of time this was. A huge season with the added demands of Champions League football, plus understandable raised expectations following Eddie Howe’s heroics last season.

Even ahead of the October 2021, we were repeatedly told that a new state of the art training complex was a big priority.

After the takeover, we were told that a number of sites were under consideration, just a case of deciding which one. Land the Reuben family own up at Newcastle Racecourse, was widely believed to be the preferred option.

Now four years after the takeover, some six years after that takeover process kicked off, not even any plans released. No site made public.

Instead the existing training ground has been patched up. Further patching up announced in March when we were also told by Darren Eales; “Though we are looking to the medium-term for a new training ground.”

New Stadium

A number of supposed announcement dates have passed on this very important necessity.

In March 2025, Darren Eales said it had been put back yet again:

“We are looking to get something done in the near future.