Newcastle United confirm end-of-season departure - Eddie Howe says it’s ‘not ideal’

Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has confirmed analyst Mark Leyland will join Manchester City at the end of the season.

Howe poached Leyland from Liverpool not long after he was appointed Magpies’ head coach in November 2021. The pair previously worked together at Burnley.

Leyland’s 14 months on Tyneside has coincided with a huge transformation. United have gone from Premier League relegation candidates to European contenders.

The 37-year-old will remain at Newcastle until the summer before taking an ‘new international position’ working across a number of clubs within the City Football Group.

“Yes he is,” confirmed Howe. “He will leave us at the end of the season but he’ll work through to then.”

He added: “Losing key members of staff is never ideal but I’ve been here many times before when that’s happened. It’s part of growing.

“People will always be looking for elite members of staff and that’s one of the things we have to be aware of as a football I think. Mark goes, but he’ll go with our best wishes.

“He’s currently here and fully committed to our journey.”

Speaking previously about Leyland’s impact, Howe said: “He’s one of a number of people behind the scenes that have put a tireless amount of work in to try and improve the team. We love him to bits and he’s been an integral part of our team.

“I’ve spoken before about the infrastructure and we do need to improve what we deliver for our players. Certain aspects of the club need to evolve and change as we hopefully sign new players and develop the squad as we want to.”