Former Newcastle United defender makes divisive Eddie Howe claim after £374m blow
Eddie Howe’s departure from Newcastle United was bigger than Alexander Isak, Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes, according to this former defender.
Former Newcastle United defender Sebastian Bassong believes Eddie Howe is the club’s biggest loss in the past two years.
A summer of major change at St James’ Park saw Howe step down as head coach after four-and-a-half years in charge.
A year earlier, Newcastle were rocked by Alexander Isak’s departure to Liverpool, just months after ending their 56-year trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup and qualifying for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons. The Magpies struggled without the Swede last season and finished 12th in the Premier League.
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Following the summer departures of Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali, and with Bruno Guimaraes also stating his intention to leave before joining Arsenal, Howe walked away from his position just 23 days before the Premier League opener against Liverpool.
Matthias Jaissle swiftly succeeded Howe and has been tasked with working with a young squad following the arrival of eight new signings, all aged 24 or under.
Jaissle’s side were unbeaten in their opening three Premier League matches, beating Tottenham Hotspur and drawing with Liverpool and Bournemouth, but have since suffered three defeats in their last four games.
Sebastian Bassong on Newcastle United
Bassong expects Newcastle to struggle this season and highlighted Howe’s departure as the main reason for his concerns.
“I'm concerned due to the fact that they started kind of okay, and that gave people false hope that maybe it could have gone the right way,” Bassong told talkSPORT. “But with the departure of Eddie Howe, for me, even though they've lost, in the last two seasons, a lot of key players, Eddie Howe leaving, for me, is the main thing.
“They're going to struggle for the simple reason that they don't have the players that is required to perform.
“But the good thing with Newcastle is St. James' Park, the Geordies, the fan base. And I think based on that, they're going to have the extra bit that's going to allow them to stay in the league and to perform, I think, better.
“But they're going to need time. They're going to need a lot of hard work and a lot of patience because so many things have changed, and they need time to settle that.”