Newcastle United have been warned Eddie Howe could leave the club following his fractured relationship with sporting director Paul Mitchell.
The 46-year-old continues to do a great job on Tyneside with the Magpies sitting seventh in the Premier League table.
However, Mitchell’s arrival from Monaco in the summer following Dan Ashworth’s decision to join Manchester United has unsettled the ex-Bournemouth boss.
The pair’s working relationship is rumoured to be at breaking point after a disappointing transfer window saw Mitchell fail to land Marc Guehi; Howe’s top target and would-have-been marquee signing.
And with the two figures no longer talking behind the scenes after Mitchell’s arrival saw him exclude Howe from an important meeting, fans have been warned Howe could throw the towel in.
Speaking to Football Insider, former Premier League scout Mick Brown admitted he ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ if the Amersham-born tactician ‘walked away’ from St. James’ Park.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if he walked away,” Brown said.
“It wouldn’t surprise me because he’ll get to a stage where he thinks, ‘I’m the manager, I’m responsible for everything, I’ve got to pick up the bill for everything, but I’m not the one making the decisions’.
“He won’t be having that. So, it’s a classic case of a lack of cooperation between the sporting director and the manager.
“I’ve seen it happen many times, and I’ve seen very few examples where it works out well.
“I’m hearing the situation there now is bringing a state of instability into the club. That can’t be good.
“You get to a stage where the director of football is trying to bring in players that the manager doesn’t want, so where do you go from there?
“Some of the statements that have come out from the director of football criticising the manager’s decisions are absolutely abysmal.
“Everybody you talk to who’s had anything to do with him says Eddie Howe is very good at his job.“
During his three years in the northeast, Howe, who penned a long-term deal in 2022, has averaged an impressive 1.73 points per game.
He has recently been strongly linked with replacing Erik Ten Hag at Manchester United as the Red Devils’ new hierarchy continue to discuss the Dutchman’s future.
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