Who is Matthias Jaissle? Newcastle fans urged to be excited by ‘direct and aggressive’ 38-year-old tactician

Matthias Jaissle of Al Ahli is set to be the next manager of Newcastle after Eddie Howe left his position.

Howe replaced Steve Bruce as manager in November 2021 and ended the Magpies’ 70-year wait for a major trophy by winning the 2025 Carabao Cup.

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The 48-year-old came under pressure last season as Newcastle finished 12th in the Premier League.

His final match in charge was a 4-1 defeat to Bristol City in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday.

The club seems well prepared for his exit, as talks between Jaissle and Newcastle are reportedly at an advanced stage.

Who is Matthias Jaissle?

Jaissle is a two-time Asian Champions League winner with Al Ahli, a club owned by Saudi Arabia‘s Public Investment Fund, like Newcastle.

The German played for Hoffenheim for the majority of his playing career after being signed from Stuttgart by then-manager Ralf Rangnick.

He accumulated 60 appearances for the first team at centre back from 2007-2014; however, an ACL injury forced him into an early retirement at just 26.

Rangnick invited the German onto a trainee programme at RB Leipzig within the club’s youth setup.

The 38-year-old subsequently managed Red Bull Salzburg, winning back-to-back Austrian Bundesliga titles at just 33 years old.

Additionally, he led the club to the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in their history.

Jaissle joined Al Ahli in 2023 and has led them to consecutive Asian Champions League titles in 2025 and 2026.

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German football expert Seb Stafford-Bloor believes Newcastle fans should get excited by their new manager.

He told talkSPORT: “For Newcastle fans, this is exciting. Matthias Jaissle – his roots were in the Red Bull system. So he plays in the way you’d expect.

“Very direct, very forward thinking, very aggressive without the ball. He’s a very passionate character, very active on the touchline.

“I mean, he’s won back-to-back Asian champions leagues, which were the first continental trophies in Al Ahli’s history in the Saudi Pro League. So, he’s done a terrific job and he’s still only 38 as well.

“This is a guy who’s still developing, but he’s already a fascinating character.

Who has Matthias Jaissle managed?

Becoming head coach of the serial Austrian champions at just 33, he was able to use his age to connect with a young squad that included Benjamin Sesko, Brenden Aaronson, and Noah Okafor.

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Asked if Jaissle was more Thomas Tuchel or Jurgen Klopp, Stafford-Bloor commented: “I’m going to sit on the fence and say he’s somewhere between the two, because I think personality wise, he’s a bit more of a Klopp.

“I mean, he’s not quite the same communicator, although he clearly places great emphasis on communication and gets on very well with younger players.

“When he was at Salzburg, because he was so young, he had a kind of rapport with some of the younger guys there. So Benjamin Sesko was one of them, for instance, now at Manchester United, of course.

“What I would say though, he’s his own man. And certainly whenever you talk about someone that’s come out of Red Bull, people imagine a cookie cutter coach, they all believe in the same things.

“And yeah, some of the tenets are there, like high pressing, he wants the ball moving quickly through midfield. When I spoke to him, he said one of the things that matters to him is he doesn’t want his players playing like robots.

“Particularly when it comes to the attacking phases, he wants decision makers, he wants problem solvers, he wants creative types unlocking doors.”

Matthias Jaissle in his own words

Speaking about his time as the manager of Al Ahli, Jaissle said: “Back then, it was really spontaneous. I wish the timing had been different, but sometimes that’s how it is in football. There’s interest, or an offer, and then you need to decide quickly.

“But for me, the thought back then was obviously — and let’s be completely honest — that financially it was something I just had to consider.

“But the other part was the chance to coach a team who had just got promoted into the first league, with a huge fan base and with some big stars — some superstars, really — and it was a big step for me.”

It gave the German an opportunity to coach high-profile figures in Roberto Firmino, Riyad Mahrez, and Edouard Mendy.

England manager Thomas Tuchel revealed he has a positive relationship with his compatriot when discussing Ivan Toney‘s inclusion in the Three Lions squad.

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Tuchel said: “It was a bit of a surprise to us! [that Toney was in the picture]. When it came down to all different types of scenarios, he was back in the picture.

“I heard good feedback from Matthias, about his ability, about his fitness. We could see he still collects the numbers.

“I think he has very special skills that could help us. That could mean when we’re chasing a goal, he can be a good addition to Kane, a presence in the box when we’re pushing for a goal.”

Toney became one of the most prolific strikers in Saudi Arabia under Jaissle and was the second-highest scorer last season.

He scored 32 goals last term, four more than Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

What style of football does Matthias Jaissle play?

Since the 38-year-old arrived in Saudi Arabia, Al Ahli has played 138 matches – winning 92, drawing 21, and losing 25.

His tactics have been heavily influenced by the Red Bull coaching model, with his sides built around aggressive high pressing and intense counter-pressing.

His preferred formation in the Middle East is a 4-3-1-2, with the young manager favouring attacking full-backs who provide width.

Jaissle’s teams aim to recover the ball high up the pitch and attack quickly before opponents can reorganise defensively.

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His coaching style could be ideally suited to Newcastle, who have built a squad around intensity and athleticism.

The young manager boasts a 70 per cent average win rate across his five-year career.

The 38-year-old has previously spoken about how he adapted his Red Bull influence in a club outside the system.

He said: “We haven’t had a set way of playing here that has been established over many years, and the Al Ahli players haven’t been learning how to play in one way since they arrived at the academy.

“Instead, the club did what was possible in the transfer market, bringing players here with different sorts of backgrounds, and so I have had to adapt my thinking at times.

“A player like Riyad Mahrez, for instance. He played for Pep Guardiola (at Manchester City) for a long time and won so many trophies, so he is going to think in a different way and have a different mindset.

“The challenge for me is to bring all those different styles inside a common identity.

“When I arrived, I was determined that I wasn’t going to treat big stars differently from how I’d treated the young players in Salzburg.

“I was going to lead them in the same way: treat them with respect and ask for their commitment and hold everyone to the same standard.

“At the same time, if you have players who have been in big leagues, you need to show appreciation for what they have already achieved.”