The 2025-26 Premier League season ended just nine days ago and the 2026-27 campaign remains more than 80 days away, but a flurry of high-profile coaching moves shows the division’s biggest clubs are already preparing for the next battle at the top, according to ESPN. The 2026 World Cup will dominate the calendar for two months, yet the top end of the Premier League is undergoing its most significant period of change in over a decade.
Chelsea led the wave by appointing Xabi Alonso less than 24 hours after the club’s FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City; Alonso signed a four-year contract beginning July 1 after spells at Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid. Manchester United converted Michael Carrick’s short-term head-coach role into a permanent two-year deal, while Manchester City announced the end of Pep Guardiola’s 10-year reign. ESPN sources say former Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca will succeed Guardiola at the Etihad.
Liverpool’s surprise decision to dismiss Arne Slot — two years after his arrival from Feyenoord to replace Jürgen Klopp and following a Premier League title in his first season — was the latest of four major top-end managerial moves in a fortnight. ESPN reported Liverpool moved now to avoid falling behind their rivals.
Sources have told ESPN that Andoni Iraola is the favored candidate to replace Slot and that, if the outgoing Bournemouth coach moves to Anfield, it would complete a managerial reboot among the clubs positioned to challenge newly crowned champions Arsenal next season, according to ESPN.
The current shake-up draws parallels with the post-Sir Alex Ferguson summer of 2013, when Manchester City replaced Roberto Mancini with Manuel Pellegrini and Jose Mourinho returned to Chelsea in place of Rafael Benitez. Pellegrini led City to the 2014 title and Mourinho won the Premier League with Chelsea in 2015. ESPN suggested Guardiola’s departure could trigger a similar period of opportunity at the top, noting City failed to win the title in either of his final two seasons.
Stability remains a strength for Arsenal: Mikel Arteta is now the Premier League’s longest-serving manager with a six-year spell at the Emirates, nearly two years longer than Fulham’s Marco Silva, according to ESPN. At the same time, United are showing signs of resurgence under Carrick; ESPN adds that Maresca is expected to receive backing from City’s owners, while Alonso’s Bundesliga success at Leverkusen bolsters his credentials as he steps into Chelsea’s talented squad.
