Eddie Howe has already told Matthias Jaissle his first big Newcastle United transfer priority
Eddie Howe has already told Matthias Jaissle his first big Newcastle United transfer priority
4 – 5 minutes
Jaissle is set to succeed Howe as Newcastle United head coach and he has a big transfer priority to resolve
Eddie Howe and Matthias Jaissle
Eddie Howe and Matthias Jaissle
Matthias Jaissle will meet his Newcastle United players this weekend for the first time when he jets out to La Manga on Saturday.
The 38-year-old head coach will succeed Eddie Howe in the St James’ Park hot-seat ahead of the 2026/27 season and he inherits a squad that still has one glaring gap to fill.
Howe spoke to reporters for the final time as Newcastle boss in the aftermath of their 4-1 friendly defeat to Bristol City on Wednesday evening and confirmed that signing a new right-back is now one of their biggest priorities in the transfer window.
The Magpies have signed four players so far this summer following the arrivals of goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen, winger Bazoumana Toure and midfielders Sean Steur and Aladji Bamba and are working on a deal to make Braga goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek their fifth signing of the window.
Get Chronicle Premium now for just £1 HERE – exclusive news and features, our NUFC and Academy notebooks, plus an ad-lite experience
But they are still alarmingly short of options at full-back. Tino Livramento is still recovering from a calf injury picked up on England duty prior to the World Cup, but is the only senior right-back currently in the squad following the departures of Kieran Trippier and Emil Krafth earlier this summer.
Teenager Leo Shahar, who has made just one senior appearance so far in his career, had been trusted to start in Newcastle’s first two matches in pre-season but he dropped to the bench in their defeat at Ashton Gate on Wednesday.
Instead Jacob Murphy, a winger by trade who could still leave the club this summer after heading into the final year of his contract amid interest from Everton, started at right-back instead and with just over three weeks until the Premier League kicks off with the visit of Liverpool, it is a hole in the squad that needs filling.
And when pressed over whether signing a new right-back is not the ultimate priority for Newcastle in the remainder of the transfer window, Howe told Chronicle Live: “That is certainly an area that I think we need to look at. We knew that coming into the transfer window that was an area of concern.”
Shahar’s omission from the side is perhaps the biggest indicator that a loan move away from Newcastle may be the logical next step in the England youth international’s development.
However, Howe insisted the Magpies won’t make a ‘rash decision’ over his future while there is still such a lack of full-backs in the squad, meaning he could get a chance to impress Jaissle in their Spanish training camp.
Leo Shahar of Newcastle United
“We will have to look at younger players towards the end of pre-season,” Howe added. “There is no point making a rash decision now because we are going to need them during the pre-season schedule.
“Leo has been training with us for a long time, he has got some big attributes but, again, it is such a big jump from the level he has been playing at to the Premier League.”
Teenage forward Sean Neave started for the second successive match and did not look out of place against Championship opposition. On another day, he may have scored twice as well. In the first half, his clever run saw him get ahead of his marker to connect to Murphy’s cross but his effort from point blank range was saved well by Robins goalkeeper Sam Tickle.
He then saw a left-footed effort from 15 yards out crash back off the crossbar and it is clear he is ready for more first team exposure this season.
When asked whether that might be on loan elsewhere, Howe replied: “Sean Neave’s a different situation. We might look at that depending on the situation as we go through pre-season.”
