Paul Mitchell has announced that he will leave Newcastle United on mutual terms in June 2025 after less than a year in the role.
Fans have been left utterly shocked by the news that the 43-year-old is set to leave the club just days before the summer transfer window was due to open.
Paul Mitchell has suggested Darren Eales’ exit aided his Newcastle departure, with the club CEO also leaving in the coming months after being diagnosed with blood cancer last year.
Newcastle United have not announced plans for a replacement for Mitchell yet, but early signs suggest a new sporting director could come from inside the club.
As Newcastle look to navigate the summer transfer window without Mitchell, there is one sporting director who is available to work who would be the perfect replacement for Mitchell.
Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images
Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images
Newcastle United should replace Paul Mitchell with Hasan Salihamidzic
If Eddie Howe wants to replace Mitchell with someone who knows what it takes to win the best silverware possible, then he should look no further than Hasan Salihamidzic.
Salihamidzic was previously the sporting director at Bayern Munich, where he won several trophies and even won the Champions League with them in 2020.
Like Mitchell, Salihamidzic is known for attracting promising players to the club during his three-year stint in Germany, signing some of Bayern’s best players on free transfers.
Hasan Salihamidzic noteworthy signings Transfer fee
Benjamin Pavard £30m
Kingsley Coman £18.1m
Serge Gnabry £7.2m
Leon Goretzka Free
Alphonso Davies £11.75m
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Unbelievably, Bayern’s Champions League-winning squad that year cost just €120m (£100m), a sign that Salihamidzic can make some remarkable deals happen and prove to be successful.
However, Salihamidzic must be able to work alongside Howe if he were to become the club’s new sporting director. Howe nearly left Newcastle due to tension with Mitchell, but the pair seemed to put their differences aside in the end.
Newcastle United fans want Steve Nickson to replace Paul Mitchell
Mitchell’s exit means Howe gets more transfer power at Newcastle, something he lost when Mitchell joined the club last July.
Howe has gone out of his way to share how busy Newcastle need to be in the transfer window, but he will have to do it without a good negotiator like Mitchell by his side.
Although Salihamidzic would be a brilliant replacement for Mitchell, Newcastle fans think Steve Nickson is good enough to be the sporting director.
Nickson has been with the club since 2011 as a youth scout before being promoted to chief scout in 2017 and has been hailed for signing some of Newcastle’s best players in recent memory. The likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak were scouted and signed under his watch, so he will be well aware of what the club need going into the summer.
Newcastle have over £150m to spend in the summer transfer window, so new signings are expected. Whether it’s Salihamidzic or Nickson, the club have to get the next few months right.