Newcastle United are looking to expand their internal team as Eddie Howe and PIF work on pushing the club to the next level.
There has been a lot of change at the football club in recent months, both on and off the pitch.
Newcastle United confirmed the appointment of David Hopkinson as CEO, succeeding Darren Eales, who stepped down on medical grounds.
On his first day in the role, Hopkinson addressed Newcastle’s new stadium talks, admitting the club needs time to make a final decision.
Elsewhere, Sudarshan Gopaladesikan was appointed as Newcastle’s new technical director. The former Atalanta chief will report to a new sporting director once they are appointed.
The recruitment drive is not stopping, as a new role has been created to help take the club to the next level.
General photo of St James' Park before Newcastle United vs Liverpool in the Premier League.
Photo by Harriet Massey/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Newcastle United place an advertisement for a Principal Scientist
It feels as though a new role is being made each month with the Magpies. Martin Mark joined Newcastle as set-piece coach before the start of the Premier League season, a role which has become the norm for many Premier League clubs in recent years.
Now, Newcastle are looking to push the boundaries even further by hiring a principal scientist.
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The role emerged on newcastleunited.com and is open until 22 September.
There is no word on who has officially requested the role, but it appears that whoever takes up the job will work closely alongside the likes of Eddie Howe and his team to improve recruitment, coaching and strategies.
The role description reads: “Are you passionate about football and machine learning? At Newcastle United, we’re looking for a curious and driven scientist to help us push the boundaries of football intelligence. You’ll be working with cutting-edge data, from player tracking and skeletal movement to event and positional feeds , to uncover insights that shape recruitment, coaching, and strategy.
“In this role, you’ll be designing and implementing models that evaluate player decisions, predict movement, and assess possession value. You’ll collaborate closely with our data team and senior technical staff to turn complex datasets into clear, actionable insights that align with our football philosophy.”
Newcastle United’s new appointments can only be positive for Eddie Howe
For a manager like Howe, all these new appointments could be seen as difficult to comprehend.
The 47-year-old spent a lot of time working alongside Jason Tindall on multiple areas while at Bournemouth due to their financial situation at the time. However, it is completely different at Newcastle, with PIF happy to throw as much money as possible to get them closer to being number one.
Howe must realise that the additions that are being made at Newcastle are positive, and allow him to get the best out of every area of the club, whether it improves performances on the field, keeps players fit or improves day-to-day operations behind the scenes.
🚨NEW JOB ALERT!
Principal Scientist @NUFC
"We’re looking for a curious and driven scientist to help push the boundaries of football intelligence. Working with cutting-edge data to uncover insights that shape recruitment, coaching & strategy."https://t.co/aO69Se33qS
— Training Ground Guru (@ground_guru) September 8, 2025
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Newcastle are still in a big transition period, with a sporting director yet to be appointed following Paul Mitchell’s departure, though it is believed that Ross Wilson will join Newcastle from Nottingham Forest.
The scientist’s role is just one of many additions being made to help push the club forward and bring more success in the future.