By Gabriel Agbonlahor

26th Oct, 2023 | 6:00am

Agbonlahor can't believe Eddie Howe could leave Newcastle United amid new 'sack' claim

Gabby Agbonlahor has insisted there is “no way” Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe will take the England job.

The former Aston Villa striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, suggested the Magpies boss has more job security at St James’ Park – as he claimed the next England boss must win a tournament with this group of players or risk being sacked.

According to The Telegraph (19 October), the English FA have placed Howe on a shortlist of potential candidates to replace Gareth Southgate as boss of the men’s national side.

Southgate is currently out of contract in December 2024 with next year’s European Championships widely expected to be his final tournament as manager.

Meanwhile, Howe signed a “long-term” deal at St James’ Park last year – but the exact expiry date is yet to be made public.

He led Newcastle to a fourth-place Premier League finish in the 2022-23 campaign to return the Magpies to the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.

Agbonlahor told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “There’s no way he’ll leave Newcastle.

“It’s one of the most attractive jobs in Europe. You’ve got owners who are worth hundreds of billions – why would you want to leave that project?

“You’re going to get money to spend in every window, and you’re doing a great job. The owners love him, the fans love him.

“The England job will always be there for Howe.

“If I’m him, I’m staying. I’m not touching that England job just yet. If you don’t win a tournament with England going forward, you probably get sacked.

“This group of players need to be winning things. Other countries get rid of the managers in a similar way, we saw it with Brazil.”

In other news, Newcastle set sights on signing defender after he dazzled against Brazil.