Eddie Howe rejects Lens approach as former Newcastle boss enjoys family sabbatical

Eddie Howe has declined an approach from RC Lens, rejecting the chance to return to management with a club that competed in this season’s Champions League. The Ligue 1 side had been searching for a permanent manager after Pierre Sage left to join Crystal Palace, but Howe made clear he was not ready to step back into the dugout.

Lens ultimately turned to interim boss Yannick Cahuzac on a permanent basis after Howe rebuffed their advances, according to a report by TEAMtalk. The approach came during a period of significant transition at Stade Bollaert-Delelis, with Sage having guided Le Sang et Or to second place in Ligue 1 last season and a place in the Champions League league phase before departing for Selhurst Park.

Howe’s exit from Newcastle was itself far from impulsive. FourFourTwo understands the 48-year-old had been weighing up his future for much of last season, as the club sold key figures including Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali for substantial fees, while long-serving players Kieran Trippier, Callum Wilson and Nick Pope were also phased out. Howe chose to walk away of his own accord, with Matthias Jaissle appointed to oversee the rebuild.

It was a significant departure for a manager who had transformed Newcastle’s fortunes since arriving as the first appointment of the club’s Saudi-led ownership. He steadied a relegation battle in his opening months before guiding the Magpies into the Champions League at the end of his first full season. The Carabao Cup triumph in 2025 — ending Newcastle’s 56-year wait for a major trophy — also made Howe the first English manager to win a major honour in 17 years.

Now back on the south coast, Howe is understood to be enjoying time with his family in a sabbatical that mirrors the one he took after leaving Bournemouth in 2020. That previous break lasted around 18 months, during which he travelled across Europe to study other coaches — among them Andoni Iraola, who would later succeed him at the Vitality Stadium.

Howe’s record at Bournemouth remains the foundation of his reputation. He took charge of the Cherries in 2008, saving them from near-certain relegation in League Two despite a 17-point deduction, and across two spells guided the club from the third tier to the Premier League in three and a half years. His eight-year tenure ended with a final-day relegation in the curtailed 2019-20 season, after which he stepped aside.

With no indication of when he might return to management, Howe appears content to take his time — much as he did before Newcastle came calling.