Premier League giants hit managerial reset button, but who will capitalize?playCould Iraola become Slot’s successor at Liverpool? (2:02)Mark Ogden
The 2025-26 Premier League season ended just nine days ago, and the 2026-27 campaign is still over 80 days away, but Arne Slot’s dismissal as Liverpool manager proves that the league’s biggest clubs are preparing for a new battle at the top of the league.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is about to dominate the soccer landscape for the next two months, but most of the Premier League giants have already made huge coaching moves that amount to the biggest period of change in over a decade.
Slot’s exit from Anfield on Saturday, just two years after arriving from Feyenoord to replace long-time coach Jürgen Klopp, was the fourth major managerial move at the top end of the Premier League in the space of two weeks.
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Chelsea made the first change by announcing the appointment of Xabi Alonso as manager less than 24 hours after the club’s FA Cup final defeat against Manchester City, with the former Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid coach signing a four-year contract starting on July 1. Manchester United then confirmed the worst-kept secret in football by turning Michael Carrick’s short-term role as head coach into a permanent stay, with the 44-year-old handed a two-year deal at Old Trafford.
Within a matter of minutes on the same day, City signaled the end of Pep Guardiola’s 10-year reign as manager by announcing that the six-time Premier League winner would vacate his post, with sources telling ESPN that former Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca will succeed him at the Etihad.
Liverpool’s decision to part company with Slot was the recent, and most surprising, managerial change considering he had won the Premier League in his first season in charge at Anfield. But with their rivals all making major re-alignments in the coaching department, the Liverpool hierarchy chose to act now in order to avoid falling behind.
Sources have told ESPN that Andoni Iraola is the favored candidate to replace Slot and when, as is likely, the outgoing Bournemouth coach moves to Liverpool, it will complete a managerial reboot among the clubs that will provide the biggest threat to newly-crowned champions Arsenal next season and beyond.
The chess board has been reset, and a new game is about to begin, just like when Sir Alex Ferguson retired at United in 2013 — a moment which triggered a football earthquake in the Premier League.
This summer’s coaching changes at the top of the Premier League is the biggest upheaval in over 10 years. Getty ImagesWith Ferguson gone, United fell into decline, but City and Chelsea also made big managerial changes in the same summer, with Manuel Pellegrini replacing Roberto Mancini at the Etihad and Jose Mourinho returning for a second spell in charge at Stamford Bridge in place of Rafael Benitez.Pellegrini led City to the title in 2014, and Mourinho won the Premier League with Chelsea in 2015, so both clubs benefited from their managerial changes in 2013, with Ferguson’s departure opening up the field.Guardiola’s exit at City could lead to a similar free-for-all among the top clubs. City may have failed to win the title in either of his final two seasons in charge, but despite Slot and Arteta’s successes, Guardiola has vacated the stage as the most formidable figure since Ferguson.So who will capitalize and take advantage of the new dawn?Arsenal are blessed with the certainty and stability of manager Mikel Arteta now being the longest-serving Premier League manager with his six-year stint at the Emirates almost two years more than Fulham’s Marco Silva in second place.play1:15Dawson: Enzo Maresca would have a ‘golden ticket’ at Manchester CityArteta has the advantage of longevity and the credibility of winning a title, but United are showing signs of returning to prominence under Carrick and Maresca will be backed by City’s owners to make an instant impact at the Etihad.Alonso has a point to prove after lasting just six months at Real Madrid, but his Bundesliga success at Leverkusen offers strong evidence of his credentials, and the 44-year-old will inherit a squad of real talent at Chelsea that will surely only improve under the guidance of a coach as highly-regarded as the former Spain midfielder.
And if Liverpool seal the deal with Iraola, they will have hired a coach with a reputation as a real rising star in the coaching world after guiding Bournemouth to Europa League qualification.
Iraola’s high-energy style of play will move Liverpool closer to the model employed by Klopp during his time at the club, and his Premier League experience ensures he will not be caught out by the unique challenges of England’s top-flight.
One of the “Big Five” will emerge as Arsenal’s strongest challengers next season, and the changes at United, City, Chelsea and Liverpool could even see the Gunners dragged back into the pack.
Some of the changes may fail — Carrick is United’s seventh permanent appointment since Ferguson and they still search for another league title — but the reset button has truly been pressed at the top end of the Premier League, and 2026-27 will mark the new start of a new era.
