Newcastle in crisis: Eddie Howe under pressure, wantaway stars and potential Saudi cut backs leave Magpies with massive problems

It's been a nightmarish calendar year for Newcastle so far. In the 2026 form table, they are now 17th, hovering just above the drop zone two points clear of Wolves, whose real-life relegation has just been confirmed.

A third consecutive 2-1 league defeat on Saturday, this time to Bournemouth, means they have now lost eight of their last 11 league matches - including the derby against Sunderland - with only genuine relegation contenders Tottenham boasting a worse record so far since the turn of the year.

To compound their misery, Newcastle's FA Cup journey and Carabao Cup defence were easily ended by Manchester City before their European dreams were brutally snuffed out by Barcelona in the Champions League, as the Blaugrana crushed their opponents 7-2 in the second leg of the last-16 tie at Camp Nou.

Throughout his tenure, Howe has had the universal support of the St. James' Park faithful even through tumultuous periods of form, having banked some serious credit by saving the club from relegation, twice securing qualification for the Champions League and, of course, ending a 70-year wait for a major trophy by beating Liverpool at Wembley in 2025. However, this time feels different.

Faith in Howe's ability to turn things around seems to be waning with each passing negative result, reflected by the boos that rained down at the weekend. While Newcastle are still just about in touching distance of those teams outside the top five, their form and the number of sides above them means their chances of reaching Europe are looking increasingly slim.

Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, club legend Alan Shearer said: "As tough as it is for Eddie, I don't know what is going to happen with him. I listened to his interview afterwards (after the defeat by Bournemouth), I watched him on the touchline, I just think, is he going to want to go again? Is he going to get a chance to go again?

"If all things are equal then I would like him to stay, but does he feel he is going to have the chance? Does he want to do it again? Are Newcastle United going to have to sell? I don't see Eddie Howe in charge of Newcastle next season, unfortunately. I look at his interview and I'm not sure the fight is there."

Whether the decision to continue will be left in Howe's hands remains to be seen. For what it's worth, Sky Sports report that he is safe for now as his position won't be reviewed until the end of the season, as Newcastle head for their lowest league finish since they were relegated in 2015-16.

Speaking before the loss to Bournemouth, the head coach had insisted that his "fire" for the job was still burning "very, very strongly", but his tone seemed to have changed in the wake of another demoralising result.

"I am very aware that eight defeats out of 11 is not good enough," he said in his post-match press conference. "Winning games is the very simple remedy, but it's very hard to deliver. Momentum is against us and you can feel that in the big moments in games. There was a lack of goalmouth action from our perspective and we haven’t defended anywhere near well enough. We're not quite there at the moment. What's happening is systemic. I'm beginning to say the same things over and over again. That's a great frustration."

Addressing the boos, a defeated-looking Howe told the BBC's Match of the Day: "[It's] Disappointing when you are not delivering for your supporters. That is the ultimate disappointment when you feel you are letting people down who come here and support us. If they are critical of us, we have to accept that as that's the game we are in."

He added: "There is so much media attention on the club because it is such a huge global fanbase, and you understand that you are in the business to win. I understand the frustrations of everybody else. My own internal motivation never changes regardless of results. I want to help players grow and develop and try and produce a winning team."

Howe's cause has not been helped by the fact that pretty much all of Newcastle's big-money attacking signings have failed to deliver following Alexander Isak's acrimonious exit last summer. The head coach was heavily involved in the recruitment drive to replace the Swede, but none of Nick Woltemade, Yoane Wissa or Anthony Elanga - who cost an eye-watering £180 million ($243m) combined - have justified their hefty price tags so far.

Woltemade started the season in scintillating fashion and looked set to become a worthy replacement for Isak, but his form has fallen off a cliff since the turn of the year, with his last league goals coming way back in December in the form of a brace against Chelsea. Wissa, meanwhile, missed most of the first half of the campaign with a knee injury and has struggled to rediscover his old levels since, again failing to net domestically so far in 2026. Both Anthony Gordon and William Osula have led the line in their place at times.

Then there's Elanga, who has been unable to find the consistency that made him such a threat for Nottingham Forest in 2024-25, failing to score and picking up just one league assist with the season in its final throes. Jacob Ramsey, a forward-thinking midfielder who can play on the wing, is another 2025 summer signing who has found the going tough, while his transition to his new surroundings was hampered by an ankle problem.

It's not just incoming transfers that are a problem on Tyneside; all the noise around the club suggests they are about to witness a mass exodus of their biggest and best players. Speaking ahead of the Bournemouth game, Howe seemed to admit as much, saying: "There's a few players out of contract and you've got some big players who have done amazing things for the club maybe entering their final few months of their time here. You've got possibly players leaving in the summer and that natural evolution on that side, which happens at a football club.

"So, I can understand why the [term the] 'end of a cycle' might be used. What that looks like is unknown. It's always unknown. It's almost impossible to predict a summer transfer window and say, 'this will happen' or 'that will happen'. It's been impossible in every window I've ever managed because the moving forces in football are so difficult to predict."

Those words will have done little to lift the gloom around St. James' Park, and questions will be asked of the commitment of those wantaway stars as their season winds down. Howe tellingly paused for seven seconds when asked whether his squad shared that "fire" he had previously spoken about in his post-match press conference on Saturday.

The players he is referring to are most likely Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, Tino Livramento and Anthony Gordon, while Kieran Trippier's exit has already been confirmed as he enters the final few months of his contract, and long-serving defender Fabian Schar could follow suit. Remarkably, it's been reported that Woltemade or Wissa could be moved on after just one season, too.

Tonali has been strongly linked with Arsenal and Manchester United for months, while Guimaraes is supposedly a target for the latter and is known to be greatly admired by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola; Livramento, too, is on the Gunners' and City's radars and is likely to be allowed to leave.

Gordon, meanwhile, is the latest big-name Newcastle player to generate serious speculation of an impending exit, with Bayern Munich supposedly keen to have the £75m-rated ($101m) England winger competing with Luis Diaz on their left flank, and the 25-year-old is said to be open to leaving. At this early stage, Woltemade has only been loosely linked with a switch to Bayern Munich or Chelsea.

Much of this potential outgoing business will be aimed at funding Newcastle's summer spending and balancing the books, as they continue to grapple with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). However, their current plight is unfolding against the backdrop of serious uncertainty surrounding their owners, Saudi Arabia's sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF), who are tightening their purse strings because of the Iran war and other economic factors, like the 2034 World Cup.

Last week, the club's chairman and fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan revealed PIF were reviewing "some deals and investments", as they also sold a massive 70 per cent stake in Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal for £276m ($373m). It is rumoured that they are also preparing to sensationally pull funding for LIV Golf, a costly rebel league launched to compete with the PGA Tour in 2022.

According to the BBC, however, PIF remain "totally committed" to Newcastle and the club will be "unaffected" by this reassessment of priorities, but it will be interesting to see whether their cuts have a drip-down effect in the transfer window amid what is certain to be a summer of significant upheaval at St. James Park. Already in the eye of the storm, there promises to be even more turbulent times ahead on Tyneside.

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