‘No doubt’ - Eddie Howe tipped for England role after honest Newcastle United future admission
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Newcastle United latest news: One former Magpie has tipped Eddie Howe to become England manager in the future.
Ryan Fraser has ‘no doubts’ that Eddie Howe will become England manager in the future.
Fraser, who joined Western Sydney Wanderers from Southampton in January, twice played under Howe during his time in England. The pair first met when Howe convinced the winger to leave Aberdeen to join him at Bournemouth in January 2013.
Save for a season on-loan at Ipswich Town, Fraser would spend six-and-a-half years at the Vitality Stadium before leaving to join Newcastle United in 2020. Fraser would once again be reunited with Howe on Tyneside a little over a year later when the latter replaced Steve Bruce as Newcastle United head coach.
However, Fraser’s time at Newcastle United ended with him being frozen out of first-team matters before he joined Southampton, initially on-loan during the 2023/24 season, on a permanent basis in the summer of 2024.
Ryan Fraser tips Eddie Howe to become England manager
Speaking about his former manager to Australian outlet Football360, Fraser said: “Not everyone can see in hindsight and I knew what Eddie Howe was like. They were on a 13 game unbeaten run in League One and Eddie Howe was coming to me and saying ‘I want you to come down with us, this is how we’re going to play and how I develop my players’.
“As a young lad, when you’re seeing a manager wanting to develop players and it’s not only about gameday, win, gameday, win, for being such a young player, that’s how I wanted my career to progress. I wanted a man, a manager and a friend to be like ‘I want to make you a better player’.
“That was the main reason why I went to Bournemouth to be honest, just to be with him. When I was at home, my mum and dad did everything for me, but when I moved down [to Bournemouth] I had to learn how to do everything and the club and Eddie Howe sort of took me in the role of a father figure. Helped me with anything that I needed, took me out for dinners and stuff like that.
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“You can see what he is doing now at Newcastle, what he did at Bournemouth, he will be England manager one day. No doubt about that.
“He makes everyone better and he can make any player better. That is the highest compliment that I can give him - he can make any player in this world better.”
Having guided Newcastle United to a Carabao Cup win at Wembley and into the Champions League twice during his time at St James’ Park, there have been very few low moments during his time in the north east. However, results on the pitch in recent times have not been good enough, with criticism of the club’s summer transfer business having been blamed for their slip in form.
Speaking ahead of his side’s visit to Tottenham Hotspur, Howe was asked if he does have any doubts that he is the right person to take the club forward.
“No, there's no doubt in my mind,” he responded. “That's why I'm sat here. If there was, then I wouldn't be, because as I said, the club's the most important thing.
“So I'd never put myself before the club if I didn't think I was the correct man to take the team forward and I could give the players what they need, then I would step aside and let someone else do it.”