Newcastle United have named Matthias Jaissle as their new head coach, bringing in the 38-year-old German to succeed Eddie Howe following his resignation from St James' Park.

The club paid £9.5m in compensation to Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli to secure Jaissle's services. He has signed a four-year deal and has already been working with his new squad since the weekend.

His first competitive assignment will come quickly — a pre-season friendly against Valencia at the Mestalla this Saturday.

A trophy-laden track record

Jaissle arrives at St James' Park with an impressive résumé. Before his move to Saudi Arabia, he guided Red Bull Salzburg to two Austrian Bundesliga titles and a domestic cup, while also steering the club into the UEFA Champions League knockout stages for the first time in the club's history.

At Salzburg, he worked with players including Karim Adeyemi and Benjamin Sesko, helping to develop talent that would go on to shine across Europe's top leagues.

He then moved to Al Ahli in 2023, where he spent three years and won the Saudi Super Cup in Hong Kong, as well as leading the club to consecutive Asian Champions League titles over the past two seasons.

Jaissle's vision for Newcastle

Jaissle expressed his enthusiasm for the challenge ahead in his first words as Newcastle head coach.