Newcastle United went into the last international break of the 2025/26 campaign off the back of two bitterly disappointing results in the Premier League and Champions League.
The Magpies were humbled with a 7-2 defeat to Barcelona in the second leg of their European knockout game, losing 8-3 on aggregate, which ended their Champions League run.
Eddie Howe's side finished bottom of their group in their last Champions League campaign, and failed to get past the last 16 stage this time around.
eddie-howe-newcastle
After that loss to Barcelona, the Magpies hosted rivals Sunderland at St. James' Park and were beaten 2-1 by the newly-promoted side, making it ten league games without a run over the Black Cats.
Recent results and performances have shone a spotlight on the future of the manager, who has been in place since the 2021/22 season, on Tyneside.
The latest on Eddie Howe's future at Newcastle
The Daily Mail recently reported that Howe's long-term future as part of the PIF project at Newcastle is in doubt because of the results on the pitch and the financial problems facing the club off the field.
They claimed that the Magpies will have to sell some of their top players, such as Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes, to be able to reinvest in the squad in the upcoming summer transfer window, should they miss out on a top five finish.
The Daily Mail quoted CEO David Hopkinson as saying: "I don't have a stance on (Eddie Howe's) future. What I can tell you is that the derby loss hurt. We take it seriously. There's nothing within us that thinks, "Well, it's just three points and on we go". It has resonated. I spent a couple of hours in a one-on-one lunch recently with Eddie and we talked through a multitude of things, including that.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe
"We are not looking to make a change at the moment. We are not having those conversations. We are still in the midst of the season."
It is interesting that Hopkinson specified 'at the moment' and was unwilling to give a firm stance on the English head coach's long-term position at St. James' Park.
If the Magpies and PIF do decide to make a change in the dugout at the end of the season, there is an out-of-work manager who could be a big upgrade on Howe.
The manager who could be Newcastle's next Rafa Benitez
Arguably the most popular Newcastle boss prior to Howe's tenure was Rafa Benitez, who initially arrived at the club as a big personality and well-known manager, having won the Champions League and managed the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool.
Benitez-Everton-Toffees-Moshir-Premier-League-Lampard
Now, the Magpies could find their next version of the Spaniard by moving to appoint Enzo Maresca as a replacement for Howe, should they decide to move on from the Englishman in the summer.
Maresca has been out of work since he was sacked by Chelsea at the start of the year, and could be an excellent option to take on the role at St. James' Park if it becomes available.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca reacts
The Italian boss was previously an assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City before making strides as a head coach. Since then, the Cityzens boss has described Maresca as "one of the best managers in the world" and said that he was "lucky" to have worked with him,
Maresca won the Championship title with Leicester City in the 2023/24 campaign before taking the Chelsea job. During his time at Stamford Bridge, the former City coach won the Conference League and the Club World Cup before being sacked at the start of this year.
|Maresca in international tournaments|
|Competition|Games|Wins|
|---|
|Conference League|13|12|
|Club World Cup|7|6|
|Champions League|6|3|
|Conference League qualifiers|2|1|
The out-of-work head coach has won 22 of his 28 matches in international competitions in his managerial career to date, losing just five times, and won two trophies from those matches.
Howe, meanwhile, has won seven of his 18 games on the European stage, losing six times, and the only major trophy he has won in his career was last year's League Cup success.
Howe
Maresca, as Benitez did, would arrive at St. James' Park with experience winning European trophies and managing huge clubs under his belt, which could be the key to taking Newcastle to the next level.
The Magpies have won a domestic cup and pushed to qualify for European competitions under Howe, but the next step is to compete to win trophies on the international stage, which is why Maresca could come in as a big upgrade on him.
Therefore, Newcastle should push to convince the Italian to come to Tyneside this summer if they opt to remove Howe from his post at the end of this season.
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