Mohamed MohamedMultiple AuthorsMay 2, 2026, 01:17 PM ET
Ogden: Why Luis Enrique is Man United’s ‘unicorn’ option (2:26)Mark Ogden explains why a manager like PSG’s Luis Enrique would be an ideal successor to Michael Carrick at Manchester United (2:26)
The coaching merry-go-round in the Premier League is regularly a heated topic, but there’s a real possibility it goes up another notch this summer. Clubs up and down the English top flight are expected to have vacancies, which will create significant turbulence. We arguably haven’t seen this kind of disruption in the managerial ranks within the top flight of English football for nearly a decade.
As such, with the Premier League seemingly facing a summer of flux and turnover, let’s do some matchmaking between managers and available (or possibly available) openings. This piece will look at some of the clubs that need or might need of a new manager for next season.
With the ever-changing tactical landscape, it’s fair to wonder whether someone such as Mauricio Pochettino would be a good fit either, despite his past success in the mid-to-late 2010s. However, if there was one manager who would represent a tangible upgrade over Carrick, it would be Julian Nagelsmann.
Until his second year with Bayern Munich, Nagelsmann’s career had shown an almost linear pattern of progress. He took over a struggling Hoffenheim in February 2016 and helped push them to back-to-back Champions League qualifications in 2017 and 2018. This caught the interest of RB Leipzig, who signed him in 2019. Although he was there for only two seasons, it featured a run to the Champions League semifinals (2020) and a second-place finish in the Bundesliga (2021).
Nagelsmann’s first season with Bayern was close to standard for what you’d expect from someone in the position, winning the Bundesliga title. In comparison, Season 2 was a struggle and led to him being sacked in late March 2023, with the club being one point behind Dortmund in the table.
Though those accomplishments are impressive, Nagelsmann is an attractive coaching candidate due to the tactical diversity he has shown at each of his previous clubs. Hoffenheim had a fun play style that tried to balance patience with verticality. Minimal width and overloading the middle were key components while he managed Leipzig. Although his tenure with Bayern ended in disappointing fashion, few clubs or coaches in Europe could equal his high points.
If Manchester United want him for next season, they’ll have to be proactive and put forth a convincing sales pitch.
The hiring of Eddie Howe by Newcastle in November 2021, following the Saudi-led buyout of Mike Ashley’s ownership that October, occurred when the club was considered relegation fodder. In the years since, Howe has helped guide Newcastle to Champions League qualification on two occasions (2023, 2025), along with their first domestic trophy in 70 years (last year’s Carabao Cup). Though they’ve not yet taken the leap toward very good/great, this is the most successful era since 2002-04.
However, Newcastle are facing a summer of unrest. Their recent spending — roughly £241 million last summer for Nick Woltemade, Yoane Wissa and Anthony Elanga to help replace Alexander Isak — has not panned out. The squad is weaker than last season, and Newcastle are in the lower end of mid-table. Tactically, Howe’s focus on intensity with and without the ball has proven to be unsustainable during a long season, especially when having to juggle multiple competitions.
If Newcastle decide they need someone new to get them from Point B to Point C, one target could be Hoeness. After being hired in April 2023, he immediately helped Stuttgart survive the relegation playoffs. Amazingly, they finished second in the league in his first full season and qualified for the Champions League for the first time since 2009-10, and this campaign is shaping up to be the second in three in which they finish in the top four.
This season, they’ve figured out more counters against a variety of opponents. In addition, Hoeness has a track record for improving players, such as Hiroki Itō, Serhou Guirassy and Angelo Stiller.
However, making the pitch to him won’t be easy logistically. His contract with Stuttgart goes through 2028, and the German side could be in a strong position with Champions League football appearing to be a real possibility for next season. Reports indicate that a release clause from the previous contract is no longer present. For Newcastle, hiring Hoeness would represent a costly gamble at finding a manager who can help them play a more mature brand of football going forward.
Palace will feel that they can cast a wide net for potential targets, and one interesting candidate is Iñigo Pérez. Interestingly, only a work permit issue stopped him from traveling alongside Andoni Iraola to Bournemouth in the summer of 2023 upon Iraola’s hiring. Instead, he took over the reins with Rayo Vallecano and has made a name for himself by keeping the club in LaLiga and even getting them into the Conference League after an eighth-place finish last season.
Rayo and Pérez have adjusted their game plan defensively by becoming selective with when they press and focusing on solidity in their mid-block. Against lesser teams, Rayo are more likely to ratchet up the pressure. Although the Spanish side has shown to be more proactive without the ball than Crystal Palace under Glasner, both like to create chances from turning defensive actions into attacks.
Crystal Palace are in the midst of another transition. Marc Guéhi left in the January window, and star midfielder Adam Wharton might follow suit this summer. The squad will need some refreshing, in addition to finding the right manager to lead them going forward. Although the résumé isn’t extensive, what Pérez has shown with Rayo should make him a viable candidate to lead Palace into their next era.
Being the next one up to replace a legendary manager at a big club is always a tough task, and in England, there are recent precedents that illustrate its precariousness.
Unai Emery had to take over for Arsene Wenger in summer 2018, and that was disastrous. Manchester United have been spinning their wheels for over a decade since Ferguson’s retirement in 2013. Arne Slot has done considerably better in comparison by winning the Premier League title in his first season, but Year 2 after Jurgen Klopp has bordered on disaster despite spending over £400 million last summer.
He’s previously benefited from not being the direct replacement for a revered club coach, becoming Barcelona manager a couple of years after Guardiola’s departure in 2012. His three seasons with Barca from 2015 to ’17 were a success — particularly 2014-15, when they won the treble. His next job with the Spanish national team was a mixed bag by comparison.
Vitinha, one of their key players in midfield, described the process behind their eventual dominance.
In comparison, 2025-26 has been more of a struggle domestically and in the Champions League, with there even being the faint hopes of Lens providing a genuine title challenge. However, PSG are rounding into form at just the right time and could win the league and Champions League double. Their recent 5-4 classic with Bayern in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals showed they still had that top gear they could reach against elite competition.
However, should there be even the slightest of openings for City to pounce for a successor this summer, they should pull out all the stops to bring Luis Enrique on board.
The summer of 2016 was seminal for the Premier League, with Leicester City taking advantage of multiple big clubs having down seasons — and a transitional period tactically in England — to win the title against all odds. In response, we saw major hirings from Manchester City (Pep Guardiola), Chelsea (Antonio Conte) and Manchester United (Jose Mourinho). This doesn’t include Liverpool’s switch from Brendan Rodgers to Jurgen Klopp in October 2015. It almost felt like the established giants tried to make sure another miracle wouldn’t happen on their watch.
Amazingly, there is an argument for Manchester United to keep Michael Carrick permanently heading into next season. This is partly due to an upturn in results and underlying performance during his second spell as interim manager. Via Scout Lab, both expected points and adjusted goal difference (70% expected goals and 30% goals) have United in the top five. Their performance vs. Manchester City in January remains one of the better tactical game plans from a United manager in some time, stretching their rivals’ narrow press through fluid movement and utilizing quick switches of play.
The combination of tactical acumen, résumé and age (he’ll be 39 in late July) makes him a dynamic choice, and he would represent one of the most exciting hires the club has made since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013. The logistics of acquiring Nagelsmann make it a complicated signing. He has signed on as manager of the German national team through the 2028 European Championships, and his reputation remains impressive enough that he could wait it out another year until a more attractive job opens up.
Hoeness is an intriguing candidate in part because his teams, to some extent, have gone against the Bundesliga ethos of transition-heavy football. The 2023-24 iteration prioritized control through consistently baiting the opposition press before expertly releasing attackers into space. Against deeper blocks, there was a sophistication in using central combinations and crossing from wide areas to create chances. However, losing both Hiroki Itō and Waldemar Anton from central defense in the summer of 2024 made it tougher on Stuttgart’s buildup due to them being very comfortable on the ball. Opponents were able to be more compact out of possession and stifle their intricate movements. This was partly why Stuttgart ended up finishing 9th in the Bundesliga table in 2024-25, to go along with a quick exit in the Champions League.