5 Eddie Howe alternatives that could match Newcastle United’s ambition

Eddie Howe could be on the Newcastle chopping block after an underwhelming season but who could replace him to push the Magpies through their Premier League glass ceiling?

The Newcastle CEO’s less-than-convincing words on the future of Howe will have targets across Europe wondering if their manager is the next for St James’ Park.

But with Newcastle keen to break into the Premier League elite, picking the next manager is not an easy task and while there are plenty of familiar names high up on the bookies’ list, here are five managers who match the ambition of the owners.

The most commonly linked name to the Newcastle job so far has been Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola.

The Cherries boss has transformed the club since arriving and even if they had a slump midway through this season, he remains one of the most sought after coaches in football.

His CV would suggest the top clubs are not quite convinced as of yet which is why Newcastle have a good chance of landing him. Although Ernesto Valverde’s announcement that he is leaving the manager role at Athletic Bilbao may scupper those plans.

If they do get him, Newcastle fans will hope he can take them up a level like he did with Bournemouth.

Appointing Xavi comes with a lot of question marks, mainly that we have no evidence to draw upon of how he would do with this kind of challenge.

He is clearly a skilled manager having won the league with Barcelona but doing that with one of the two Spanish big boys is a different task from managing at best, the third biggest club in England.

Critics of the Newcastle ownership have suggested they want a big name and Xavi certainly fits that bill and playing for someone like him may convince the likes of Sandro Tonali to stick around for another year.

With the Tottenham door closed (for now), Mauricio Pochettino may well wonder where he will be come the end of his US contract in August.

Some will say that the current iteration of Pochettino is far removed from the former Spurs boss but does that not fit the exact profile that Newcastle are after?

Here is a manager who has proven track record of taking a somewhat sleeping giant and transforming them into a club capable of reaching the top end of the Premier League .

Did he win the trophies at Spurs? Ultimately no, but four consecutive seasons in the top four, one of which the club finished second, and a Champions League final appearance show what he achieved.

At PSG, he gained experience of winning leagues and if given the right backing, something Spurs were reluctant to do, he could make Newcastle a consistent presence in the top four.

Getting Xabi Alonso to the club would be a big ask considering his most recent job was at Real Madrid, but with Liverpool looking like they will stick with Arne Slot, the chances aren’t zero.

If Newcastle were able to pull off the coup, they would have one of the best young managers in the world and, as he showed at Leverkusen, a manager able to take an underdog and unsettle the established teams of a league.

In terms of what Alonso gets out of it, the promise of an inflated chequebook could tempt him, as could being the man to establish Newcastle as a top club. We still give it a 10% chance of happening though.

Didier Deschamps’ French career will come to an end this summer with what he hopes will be a second World Cup, but what then?

The former Chelsea player is only 57 so has plenty of years left in management but there will be the question of how much national team success can translate to club success.

He has limited experience in that regard with stints at Monaco, Juventus and Marseille, the last of which ended in 2012, but a man able to do what he did with France has more than enough credentials to suggest he can do well at Newcastle.

The former defensive midfielder will be available in August, or July depending on how France do, and is the big name that Newcastle could want to move to the next level.