Eddie Howe is doing a fantastic job at Newcastle United and their form this season proves that.
The Magpies did not spend heavily in the summer transfer window when it looked certain that they will.
However, that has not stopped Howe and his team from performing well this season, with the Toon Army currently sitting in sixth position in the league, ahead of Tottenham and Manchester United who splashed the cash in the transfer window.
All is not well at St James’ Park though, with Howe and new sporting director Paul Mitchell not getting along well with each other.
Mitchell has criticised how the club was being run before his arrival and that has not gone down well with the manager.
There has been a bust-up at the boardroom level and because of that, Gary Neville feels Howe should leave the Newcastle United job.
“If I was Eddie Howe, I would go and look after myself,” Neville said on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast.
“You’ve had a great Premier League career, you’ve done a brilliant job. You’ve been fantastic at Newcastle. You’ve almost closed that chapter of their development.”
The Magpies will not want their manager to leave now after all the good work he has done at the club. The 46-year-old manager guided the club to Champions League football for the first time in ages and the club would be hoping to keep him for a long time.
Neville feels that Howe should consider the England job, which has been vacated after the departure of Gareth Southgate this summer.
Lee Carsley is currently the interim manager of England but Neville wants Howe to target the Three Lions job.
“England are in a great position with players. You’re going to be working with amazing players,” Neville continued.
“The next step up in Eddie’s career would be England. It’s difficult to get a Chelsea job, or Man United or Liverpool. He’ll know that. He might get Tottenham at some point in the future.
“My point is for Eddie, it’s difficult… to win with England, you’d have a chance of getting one of those top jobs. I think it’s his next step up, and I think he would take that job. He’s got to be proactive and not wait for other people to determine his outcome.”
Eddie Howe should continue his Newcastle United project
It remains to be seen how the Newcastle manager and Mitchell will navigate through their relationship.
Howe is the most important figure at the club and his authority cannot be diminished with Mitchell arriving just a few months ago.
The Newcastle manager had a fantastic working relationship with former sporting director Dan Ashworth and both of them contributed to the Magpies becoming a competitive force in English football.
There is no question over Howe’s ability to lead the England side but leaving the Magpies at this stage of the project would not be the wisest decision.