Newcastle United have now announced that Paul Mitchell will be departing at the end of June.
The man born in Stalybridge has acted as Director of Football at St James’ Park ever since July 2024, where he has overseen the signings of Odysseas Vlachodimos, William Osula, Lloyd Kelly – who has already left for Juventus – and John Ruddy.
Newcastle United can announce that Sporting Director, Paul Mitchell, will leave the club by mutual consent at the end of June 2025.
Paul leaves with the club's best wishes and the Board would like to express its sincere thanks to him for his professionalism and diligent service.
— Newcastle United (@NUFC) May 27, 2025
It is a bold move from Newcastle United to leave Eddie Howe without a Director of Football ahead of a significant summer – with UEFA Champions League football looming once again next season – although the Magpies may actually already have a replacement lined up for Paul Mitchell.
Newcastle United could already have Dougie Freedman in line after what happened in March
Newcastle tried to hire Dougie Freedman from Crystal Palace before eventually failing, and turning to Mitchell in 2024.
However, there was a sudden development involving the Glaswegian in March, as he surprisingly left Crystal Palace to join Al-Diriyah with immediate effect, a side who play in the Saudi Second Division.
Few would have predicted such a move for the 51-year-old, given his emergence as one of the most talented recruiters in the entire Premier League, bringing the likes of Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton to Crystal Palace in recent years for bargain fees.
Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images
Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images
However, we feel it could be a roundabout way for Newcastle to finally hire Freedman. Crucially, Al-Diriyah are owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), who also own 80% of the Magpies.
PIF could therefore find it relatively simple to switch Freedman between two of their clubs, or simply lean on the Scot for recruitment advice, as he is believed to hold a broader role as Head of Sport at Al-Diriyah, rather than just a Director of Football position.
Marc Guehi might finally join Newcastle United, regardless of who replaces Paul Mitchell
Arguably the biggest disappointment from Mitchell at Newcastle was his failure to sign Guehi from Crystal Palace, despite submitting several bids. Alan Shearer even called the saga “embarrassing” after an alternative was not found either.
Now, however, regardless of who replaces the former Tottenham director, Newcastle could have better luck this summer.
Marc Guehi doubles @CPFC's lead with a delightful finish from Eze's delivery 💥
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/zkYZTbyU6R
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 15, 2025
The Standard believe Newcastle remain keen on Guehi, and this time around, the England international only has 12 months left on his contract, with no intention of signing a new deal.
Therefore, Crystal Palace can either sell, or risk losing a £50m asset for nothing in 2026.