The Magpies are set to make a decision regarding the future of Eddie Howe.
Newcastle United are likely to hold talks to appoint a managerial “legend” at the end of the season, according to a reliable journalist.
Newcastle’s season so far
After finishing fourth last season in the Premier League, the black and white stripes secured a place in this year’s Champions League, which was no doubt a fantastic achievement for everyone associated with the club. However, it’s fair to say that things didn’t turn out as they would have hoped.
The Magpies ended up finishing at the bottom of their group below Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Milan, meaning that not only did they fail to progress to the next stage of that particular competition, they also missed out on dropping into the Europa League.
This comes amid an indifferent league campaign to date, with the Magpies outside the European places entirely heading into this weekend’s round of fixtures, with just 9 wins in 19 matches.
Should PIF decide to relieve Eddie Howe of his duties in the near future given their inconsistent form, they appear to have set their sights on a possible replacement in the form of AS Roma’s Jose Mourinho, who has plenty of experience in the English top flight having previously managed Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur (Transfermarkt – Mourinho statistics).
The Portuguese’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, meaning that he will be a free agent on the market should he not sign an extension, and if that does turn out to be the case, the 60-year-old could find himself on the radar of the hierarchy at St James’ Park.
Newcastle linked with Mourinho
Speaking to GiveMeSport, reporter Dean Jones suggested that Newcastle probably do like Mourinho and claimed that they are expected to evaluate the position of Howe upon the conclusion of the campaign.
He said: “At some point, they will get a bit trigger-happy and they will decide to make a change. You’re already seeing Jose Mourinho being linked with Newcastle. Those things don’t happen by luck. There’ll be stories there, there will be conversations had, even if they’re very low-key conversations, just try starting to sound out who they could get if they didn’t have Eddie Howe.
“I think at the back end of the season, they’ll get towards a big decision. Because if Newcastle aren’t in the Champions League places in the league, they’re already out of Europe, if they don’t win a cup, they will be thinking, well, has he taken us as far as he can go? How do we now take this club quickly to being a proper Champions League-level side?”
AS Roma’s record under Mourinho
During his time at AS Roma, Mourinho has 67 wins, 29 draws and 37 losses under his belt from 133 games, where he is currently averaging 1.73 points per match, taking 230 out of a possible 399 following his arrival back in 2021.
The Setubal-born coach is a veteran in the dugout and more than knows what it takes to compete and be successful at the very highest level, having secured 31 trophies since the start of his managerial career, including the Premier League and Champions League on multiple occasions.
As described by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, Mourinho is a “legend” for what he has been able to achieve at the helm, so while he might be a slightly older profile than the hierarchy would be open to considering, there’s no doubt that he could be an exciting appointment for Newcastle.
