Eddie Howe draws Premier League ‘Hall of Famer’ comparisons after Newcastle United transformation

The former Arsenal star has given a glowing reference to the United manager.
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Former Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere admitted he would love to see the Football Association make a move for Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe if Gareth Southgate opts to end his time in charge of England.

The future of the former Middlesbrough manager has been the source of much speculation following the Three Lions’ World Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of France on Saturday night. In the aftermath of that defeat in Qatar, Southgate admitted he would take some time before making a decision over seeing out the final 18 months of his current contract. A debate over whether the FA will opt for a foreign manager for only the third time in their history has already raged over the last 48 hours, with Howe, Chelsea manager Graham Potter and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard all suggested as possible replacements if an English boss is approached.

Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe pictured alongside Jack Wilshere. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe pictured alongside Jack Wilshere. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe pictured alongside Jack Wilshere. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
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Wilshere has worked under Howe during his playing career after spending time on loan at Bournemouth during the 2016/17 Premier League season - although Howe had departed by the time the midfielder make a permanent move to the South Coast in January 2021. The 34-times capped former England star compared the Magpies boss to Arsenal legend Arsene Wenger and believes the FA could have some difficulty persuading Howe to left his role at St James Park to take a step into international management for the first time.

He told The Sun: “If Gareth Southgate does leave the England job, I’d love the FA to try and get Eddie Howe. I know how good Eddie is from my time at Bournemouth but people wondered whether he could make that step up to a bigger club. Well, now he has shown at Newcastle how skilled he is at developing players and he’s turning them into title challengers. The problem for the FA would be persuading him to swap his club for his country — and I’m not sure they’ll be able to do that.

“He might feel it’s too early for him and that he wants more time to build success in the North East. If he delivered silverware for Newcastle he’d be a god. But the England job is the pinnacle for any English coach and it might be hard to turn down if there is a proper offer on the table. Eddie is so thorough in everything he does — from the way he organises the season, to his well-thought-out training sessions, to the one-to-one attention he gives players.

“He’s a top man-manager. I’d only had Arsene Wenger as a club boss before I went to Bournemouth and he was a great man-manager, too — but in a different way to Eddie. Arsene would give you a lot of trust and confidence and left you to get on with it. Eddie was more detailed, probably because the level of player he had was not as good as Arsenal’s.”

Howe is currently rated as fourth favourite to take over should Southgate step down, with Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers currently standing as the frontrunners for the role.