What Newcastle United stars were told before flight to La Manga after crunch meeting
Newcastle United players were informed of the appointment of Matthias Jaissle’s arrival during a meeting at the KNOX this morning – and also learned officially of Eddie Howe’s exit at the same time.
The club are yet to post an official statement on Howe’s exit, and some were surprised to hear the coach’s decision to quit so soon after the 4-1 defeat to Bristol City, but full clarity was issuedahead of their lunchtime flight to La Manga.
The team departed midday, and Chronicle Live understands that there was sadness from certain stars at the departure of both Howe and other figures, including Graeme Jones.
For a lot of them, Howe was the man they signed for and the person who convinced them to turn down moves around Europe and to Premier League rivals. As for ex-England coach Jones, he was deemed a mentor behind the scenes for many senior stars and was very much a buffer between Howe and the players.
Jones could be seen holding a long chat with Anthony Gordon just hours before news of his move to Barcelona was confirmed in May.
But Jaissle will be bringing in his own staff, and while an £8m compensation package with Engin Yanova, Alexander Hauser and Florian Koch from his days at Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League, strong candidates to join him.
Newcastle will also jet out their team of fitness coaches and sports science team alongside head of performance James Bunce.
It is believed that the team were not scheduled to train this afternoon after the flight and the main work will start on Saturday, by which time the new manager is expected to firmly in place.
As Chronicle Live reported earlier, Bruno Guimaraes is set to fly into La Manga on Sunday and is scheduled to train on Monday morning.
Bruno was offered two options: either to hook up today and fly with the team or jet over to Spain from South America this weekend.
The player is currently coming to the end of a post-World Cup training and fitness programme and Toon chiefs are satisfied with his levels after talks with fitness coaches.
Newcastle and Bruno agreed that a flight from Brazil to London, then Newcastle, then on to La Manga wasn’t convenient compared to a direct flight from South America to Spain.
Before then, it is expected that the club will formally announce Howe’s exit and the arrival of Jaissle, who will arrive with his own backroom team.
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