As reported by The Chronicle, Newcastle remain confident Eddie Howe won’t be swayed by the possibility of managing England, having a ‘protection plan’ in place to keep our highly-rated head coach on Tyneside.
With England crashing out of the World Cup, Howe’s name has featured heavily in the list of possible replacement for Gareth Southgate, should he leave. However, Newcastle are thought to be very confident he’s going nowhere.
It’s been revealed that Howe does NOT have a release clause in his contract, signed at the beginning of the season, that would allow him to leave to manage his country.
Southgate has refused to commit his future to England following Saturday’s devastating defeat, although he is contracted for another tournament until 2024; the Euros in Germany.
Back in October, Dan Ashworth made it clear that Newcastle have done everything to ‘protect the club’ with the possibility of Howe leaving, but the 45-year-old has previously talked down any chance of him leaving for the Three Lions.
On the England job, Howe previously said: “Gareth has done an incredible job – I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I never say never. Never say ‘no, it won’t be something I am interested in’.
“But, in the short term, [being England manager] is not on my radar at all. I have always said I love the day-to-day coaching, love being with the players on the training ground.
“International football, you get that taken away for long periods. At this moment in my life that is not something I want to do.”
With Newcastle flying high in the Premier League and set to have a very bright future with the backing of PIF, it would certainly take a lot for Howe to be tempted to leave his promising position.
