All but one of the 20 Premier League clubs now has a manager.
Just over seven weeks until the 2026/27 Premier League season kicks off and Fulham are now the only one without a team boss.
Gary O’Neill filled the vacancy at Ipswich Town a week ago and now Enzo Maresca has at last been finally named as Manchester City manager.
Chelsea and Manchester City had been in lengthy negotiations about compensation and reported that agreement reached which will see ‘well in excess of £10m’ Man City pay the Stamford Bridge club.
Back on 1 January 2026, the official announcement stated: ‘Chelsea Football Club and Head Coach Enzo Maresca have parted company. With key objectives still to play for across four competitions including qualification for Champions League football, Enzo and the Club believe a change gives the team the best chance of getting the season back on track. We wish Enzo well for the future.’
At the time, fair to say that pretty much everyone took this to mean the usual Chelsea ‘mutually’ sacking yet another manager. However, what this very much sounds like now, at least to me, is that it was more like Enzo Maresca ‘mutually’ sacking Chelsea off. If a manager is sacked these days, it is often the case that the club keeps on paying the departed manager’s wages until he gets another job, rather than paying a huge lump sum. So if the manager doesn’t get another job, his whole contract eventually gets paid to the sacked team boss. In this case though, rather than Enzo Maresca not getting paid any more by Chelsea (or having had a lump sum paid to him back in January), Manchester City reported to be giving Chelsea more than £10m. The assumption must be that Enzo Maresca forced his way out of Chelsea, having been given a nod and a wink that the Manchester City job was going to be his.
Now the club that still faces 115+ Premier League charges has announced: ‘Manchester City are delighted to confirm the appointment of Enzo Maresca as manager The Italian has signed a three-year contract until summer 2029. For Maresca it will mark his third spell at the Club, and he arrives armed with a wealth of experience and success at elite level.’
Enzo Maresca saying: “Manchester City is a club I know very well and to have the chance to manage this team is a brilliant opportunity for me. Manchester City is an incredibly well-run football club. Everything they do is innovative, planned and purposeful. For a manager, that is a dream situation. It provides the consistency I need to do my job effectively. This will be my third spell here. I know this Club, I know the demands and I know the expectations. The quality of the people who work here is what makes it so special, and I want to thank them for showing faith in my ability. I cannot wait to start coaching the players. I want us to win, play good football and enjoy the pressure of representing Manchester City.”
This is now the current position for permanent Premier League managers – as at 30 June 2026:
Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) 22 December 2019
Eddie Howe (Newcastle United) 8 November 2021
Unai Emery (Villa) 1 November 2022
Daniel Farke (Leeds) 4 July 2023
Regis Le Bris (Sunderland) 1 July 2024
Fabian Hurzeler (Brighton) 2 July 2024
Frank Lampard (Coventry) 28 November 2024
David Moyes (Everton) 11 January 2025
Sergej Jakirovic (Hull) 11 June 2025
Keith Andrews (Brentford) 27 June 2025
Michael Carrick (Man Utd) 13 January 2026
Vitor Pereira (Forest) 15 February 2026
Roberto De Zerbi (Spurs) 31 March 2026
Marco Rose (Bournemouth) 1 June 2026
Andoni Iraola (Liverpool) 4 June 2026
Pierre Sage (Crystal Palace) 15 June 2026
Gary O’Neill (Ipswich Town) 23 June 2026
Enzo Maresca (Manchester City) 29 June 2026
Xabi Alonso (Chelsea) set to take over on 1 July 2026
No manager (Fulham)