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Eddie Howe has opened up about how he ended up joining Newcastle United back in 2021 after a late U-turn decision.
Howe was down to the final two candidates to be the first major appointment of the new Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund ownership at Newcastle. Unai Emery was the club’s first choice but had a late change of heart and ended up joining Aston Villa a year later.
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Both Howe and Emery have taken struggling Premier League sides to Champions League qualification in their first full seasons in charge of their respective clubs.
When asked if he was bothered about taking the Newcastle job after Emery had turned it down, Howe said via Up Front: “Not in the slightest.
“I got a phone call to say, I knew it was a two horse race in the end between me and Unai and he is someone that has got an unbelievable CV. As soon as I knew it was two of us, I knew I’d lost because of the other guy and his CV was unbelievable.
I sort of knew what was going to happen, I then got the phone call to say ‘Unfortunately we’re going to go in a different direction’ and I understood. There was no ill-feeling or grudges.
“Then I got the call the next day, I was just delighted. What a moment, what an opportunity.”
Three years on and Howe remains in charge of Newcastle having initially guided the club away from relegation danger to a fourth-place finish and a Carabao Cup final in 2022-23 and a seventh-place finish last season.
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