Nine Premier League Clubs Start 2026-27 Season With New Permanent Managers, a League Record

The Premier League is experiencing unprecedented managerial turnover. As the 2026-27 season gets underway, nine of the league's 20 clubs will field a new permanent manager for their opening match, according to the BBC. That surpasses the previous high of eight clubs, set before the 2016-17 season.

The turnover touches almost every tier of the table, from perennial title contenders to clubs fighting to stay up.

Liverpool sacked Arne Slot and brought in Andoni Iraola. Manchester City moved on from Pep Guardiola, who resigned after a decade of trophies at the Etihad, and replaced him with Enzo Maresca. Chelsea, still trying to find stability after years of managerial churn under owner Todd Boehly, parted ways with Liam Rosenior and hired Xabi Alonso.

Bournemouth turned to Marco Rose once Iraola's contract there expired, opening the door for his move to Liverpool. Nottingham Forest brought in Oliver Glasner after firing Vitor Pereira. Crystal Palace hired Pierre Sage once Glasner left Selhurst Park at the end of his own contract.

Further down the promotion and relegation battle lines, Fulham appointed Alvaro Arbeloa after Marco Silva's deal ran out, and newly promoted Ipswich Town named Gary O'Neil as successor to Kieran McKenna, who resigned. Newcastle United appointed Matthias Jaissle after Eddie Howe stepped down, according to the BBC, rounding out the list at nine. That accounts for nearly half the league starting fresh at the top.

The 2016-17 season, the previous record-holder with eight new managers, is remembered as a turning point for the league. That was the year Guardiola arrived at Manchester City and Antonio Conte took over at Chelsea, promptly winning the title in his first season. Before that, seven clubs changed managers ahead of 1995-96, and six did so in 2012-13. Premier League clubs are pulling the trigger on managers faster than ever, and the money and pressure in the modern game seem to be accelerating the trend rather than slowing it down.

What makes the turnover more striking is how few managers have any real tenure left in the league. Arsenal's Mikel Arteta, in charge since December 2019, is now the Premier League's longest-serving manager, and he's been at the job less than seven years. Only Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid, in charge since December 2011, has a longer run among managers at Europe's top five leagues.

Beyond Arteta, the list of "long-tenured" managers thins out fast. Aston Villa's Unai Emery and Leeds United's Daniel Farke have been with their clubs for more than three seasons, a length of time that now counts as stability. Sunderland's Regis le Bris, hired in July 2024, is already the fourth-longest-serving manager in the entire division after barely two years.

Manchester United's situation is telling. Michael Carrick became permanent manager in May 2026 after taking interim charge in January, and he's already United's seventh permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. Despite being on the job only a few months, only 10 Premier League managers have been in their current post longer than Carrick.

Nine new managers means nine clubs essentially rebuilding tactical identities, squad hierarchies, and dressing-room trust from scratch, all while trying to compete in what the BBC has separately described as one of the most open title races in years. History offers a mixed signal. Conte won the league in his first year in 2016-17. But plenty of first-year managers in a crowded transition class don't get a title-winning debut. They get sacked within 18 months and become part of next year's turnover statistic.

The open question heading into the season is whether any of these nine new hires, particularly at Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea, can break the pattern Manchester United has been stuck in since 2013: hire, struggle, fire, repeat.