The Sports Guru
Andoni Iraola's decision to leave Bournemouth, with a return to Athletic Club in Bilbao strongly linked, is the latest domino to fall in what promises to be an extraordinarily busy Premier League management summer. This piece maps out the chain reaction his exit sets in motion, from Crystal Palace's search for a new head coach right through to the futures of Pep Guardiola, Arne Slot, and Michael Carrick.
Before a ball has been kicked in anger this coming pre-season, the Premier League is already shaping up for one of the most turbulent managerial summers in recent memory. Andoni Iraola's decision to walk away from Bournemouth, with a return to Athletic Club in Bilbao understood to be his preferred destination, has thrown another significant name into an already crowded pool of managerial movement. For the Cherries, it represents a genuinely difficult loss; for the rest of the division, it accelerates a process that was already gathering pace at considerable speed.
Iraola joined Bournemouth in June 2023, arriving as a relative unknown to Premier League audiences after chairman Bill Foley made the eyebrow-raising call to dismiss the well-regarded Gary O'Neil. What followed was a vindication of that gamble. The Spaniard transformed Bournemouth into a competitive, coherent Premier League side, imposing a high-pressing, positionally disciplined style that was unmistakably his own at a club that had every reason to simply aim for survival. His departure is, by any measure, a bitter blow to the south coast outfit.
Yet the significance of this story extends well beyond Vitality Stadium. The highest number of managerial changes at Premier League clubs between the first and final weekends of a season sits at seven, recorded in both 2015-16 and 2016-17. This coming summer carries every hallmark of surpassing that benchmark, or at the very least, matching it in the sheer scale of uncertainty surrounding the division's top clubs.
Crystal Palace Left to Reassess Targets
Iraola had been identified as a serious target by Crystal Palace, who will require a new manager when Oliver Glasner's tenure concludes at the end of the season. Securing the Basque coach would have represented a notable coup for the south London club, signalling clear ambition in their rebuild. With that avenue now likely closed, attention at Selhurst Park appears to have turned towards Thomas Frank, who was dismissed by Tottenham Hotspur in February after just eight months in the job. Frank has a proven Premier League track record at Brentford and represents a pragmatic, well-tested option. Importantly, his work at Brentford demonstrated an ability to build cohesive team cultures on limited resources, which is precisely the kind of foundation Palace need rather than a short-term fix.
The range of names being considered at Palace underlines how unsettled the market feels right now. Sean Dyche, sacked by Nottingham Forest in February after only 114 days in the role, has even been floated as a candidate, which gives some indication of the breadth of the search. Palace are approaching this carefully, weighing numerous possibilities before committing. Glasner's departure is confirmed; the identity of his successor remains genuinely open.
Guardiola's Future Remains the Biggest Unknown
Away from the Iraola story specifically, the most consequential open question in Premier League management is whether Pep Guardiola will extend his stay at Manchester City. He retains one year on his current contract and, by his own indication, has yet to reach a decision. With City pushing for a domestic treble, having already won the Carabao Cup, pressing Arsenal in the Premier League title race, and facing Championship side Southampton in an FA Cup semi-final, the timing of any announcement feels unlikely before the season concludes.
What is notable is that speculation around potential successors has not prevented City from finding a formidable run of form. Enzo Maresca, who worked under Guardiola at City before leaving Chelsea in January, has been mentioned as a candidate, as has Xabi Alonso. Yet with Guardiola still very much in place and performing at a high level, there is no vacancy to fill. The situation looks far more settled at the Etihad than the ongoing conjecture might suggest. Historically, clubs that begin succession planning too openly while a manager is still in post tend to create unnecessary internal friction, and City's hierarchy will be acutely aware of that risk.
Slot's Position Hinges on Champions League Qualification
At Liverpool, the mood is considerably less settled. Arne Slot guided the club to the Premier League title in his first season after succeeding Jurgen Klopp, a remarkable achievement on any terms. Yet this campaign has deteriorated sharply. A 4-0 thrashing at Manchester City drew fierce criticism, and a £450 million summer outlay has not translated into sustained form or attacking consistency. The disconnect between investment and output is something Liverpool's ownership will find difficult to overlook regardless of the circumstances surrounding it.
Liverpool's hierarchy are understood to still support Slot, pointing to genuine mitigating factors: the death of striker Diogo Jota in a car crash in July, a catalogue of injuries throughout the squad, and a significant dip in the form of Mohamed Salah. Champions League qualification remains a real possibility, and it may well prove the decisive factor in whether Slot continues. Should Liverpool fall outside those places, however, the situation changes markedly. Xabi Alonso, deeply admired by Liverpool's fanbase from his playing days at Anfield and freshly available after his spell at Real Madrid, would immediately become a figure of intense interest.
Carrick's Permanent Future at United Still Undecided
At Old Trafford, Michael Carrick has impressed since stepping into the role vacated by the sacked Ruben Amorim, steering United into Champions League qualification positions. His first home defeat in charge, against Leeds United, offered a reminder of the challenges still ahead, and it also illustrated that the goodwill generated by an encouraging start can erode quickly at a club with United's expectations. Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has praised Carrick's work publicly but declined to commit to a permanent appointment, offering only "not going there" when pressed on the subject. That ambiguity is telling and leaves one of the most scrutinised jobs in world football without a long-term answer.
Verdict: A Summer Unlike Any Other
The managerial landscape heading into the summer of 2025 is genuinely extraordinary in scope. Bournemouth and Crystal Palace represent two confirmed vacancies. Manchester City, Liverpool, and Manchester United each carry varying degrees of uncertainty at the top. A record-equalling or potentially record-breaking summer of change looks increasingly plausible.
What makes this moment particularly interesting from a broader perspective is how interlocking many of these storylines are. Iraola's likely return to Spain narrows the options for Palace, which amplifies interest in Frank. Alonso's name is attached simultaneously to the Liverpool and Athletic Club narratives. The whole market is connected in ways that make a single decision ripple outwards with unusual force.
Iraola's exit from Bournemouth, wherever he ends up, is the latest confirmation that Premier League football is entering a period of significant managerial transition. Who emerges best placed from that process will go a long way to shaping which clubs are competitive for years to come.
Sources: Match information, statistics, and managerial context sourced from BBC Sport's reporting on Andoni Iraola's departure from Bournemouth and the Premier League management landscape.
Frequently Asked Questions
Iraola is leaving Bournemouth to return to Athletic Club Bilbao, the Spanish club where he played for over 12 seasons and made more than 400 appearances. The move is understood to be driven by personal and emotional ties to the club rather than any dissatisfaction at Bournemouth, where he delivered back-to-back top-half Premier League finishes and was widely regarded as one of the division's outstanding managers.
No successor has been confirmed at the time of writing. Bournemouth's recruitment has historically favoured coaches with a clear tactical identity and a track record of developing players, which is the blueprint Iraola himself embodied. The club's recruitment team will have a shortlist, but names have not yet been made public.
Bournemouth and Crystal Palace (following Oliver Glasner's exit) are confirmed vacancies. Uncertainty also surrounds Manchester City, where Pep Guardiola has one year remaining on his contract; Liverpool, where Arne Slot's position is under pressure following a sharp drop in form after a title-winning first season; and Manchester United, where Michael Carrick has impressed since replacing the sacked Ruben Amorim but has not been given a permanent contract.
Thomas Frank is understood to be the leading candidate for the Crystal Palace vacancy. Frank was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur in February 2026 after just eight months in charge at Spurs, having previously built an impressive nine-year record at Brentford that culminated in the club's promotion to the Premier League and consistent top-half finishes.
