Eddie Howe, Manager of Newcastle United, looks on prior to the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers at St James' Park on September 13, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)placeholder image
Eddie Howe, Manager of Newcastle United, looks on prior to the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers at St James' Park on September 13, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Newcastle United are close to appointing a new sporting director.
Newcastle United are edging closer to their second major appointment of the season.
Following the arrival of David Hopkinson as chief executive officer, the Magpies are set to finalise their new-look hierarchy by appointing a new sporting director.
The position has been vacant since Paul Mitchell departed in June, less than a year after he succeeded Dan Ashworth. In the absence of a sporting director, Howe, alongside recruitment duo Steve Nickson and Andy Howe, were essentially put in charge of the summer transfer window.
And the trio navigated the window successfully, with around £250million spent on six new signings. Howe, however, did reluctantly lose Alexander Isak after the Sweden international forced through his £130m British record transfer to Liverpool.
Eddie Howe ‘desperate’ for new sporting director at Newcastle United
Having lost two sporting directors in the space of 18 months, it has been suggested that Howe prefers to operate without one.
And while that has been refuted by the United boss, it is clear he didn’t really see eye to eye with Mitchell after he failed to name him when discussing past sporting directors he’d enjoyed a “very good” relationship with.
Howe said: “I don't know where that's come from. I'm desperate for a sporting director because the way the modern football club works, I think you need that person, the expertise, the person that's going to lead the club in all sorts of different ways, whether that's the academy, transfers.
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“It's a never-ending network now that the sporting director has to navigate his way through. So it's an absolutely pivotal position.
“I had a very good relationship with Dan Ashworth, a very good relationship with Richard Hughes at Bournemouth for many years, so we need the position filled but ideally with the right man, the man that can lead the club forward in many different ways and to a very successful era.
“So no, I'm fully supportive of the position.”
Nottingham Forest chief in frame for Newcastle United role
NewcastleWorld understands there is an internal belief that the appointment of a new sporting director is only a matter of weeks away. As widely reported already, Nottingham Forest chief football officer Ross Wilson is said to be the leading candidate for the role.
Howe said: “I think that these are appointments that I've said many times, and I think the club would acknowledge as well, that need to be filled.
“Darren Eales did a great job as CEO. Obviously it’s an area that I don't really know a lot about in terms of the day-to-day work that he has done, but did a great job for the football club.
“And now David comes in with his expertise, a rich experience as well in different countries, so I think he's a brilliant appointment by the club.
“And then of course a sporting director, that's absolutely vital for our future and our organisational structure. So these are positions that need to be filled but as I said many times, need to be filled by the right people.”
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