In the highly volatile world of football managers, predicting where they will be in five years is a bit of a fool’s errand but we’ve given it our best go.
From retirements to Big Six clubs, here’s where we reckon all current 20 Premier League bosses will be in five years’ time…
Mikel Arteta
Predicting Mikel Arteta’s future gives you two choices.
The first is that he wins the league this season and solidifies himself as one of the best managers in the world. In that scenario, we could see him staying at Arsenal for a few more years before having his pick of elite-level clubs.
Given his academy days spent there, Barcelona is an obvious option – as is PSG – but Arteta may need to adapt his style to fit into either of those clubs.
The second scenario would be that Arteta fails to win the league and remains a ‘nearly man’ of managers.
In that case, Arsenal may get rid next summer and get in someone they hope can take them the final step over the line. But where does that leave Arteta? You would expect him to still be able to get a job at a top club if not quite the elite of the elite. Maybe he goes head over heart and takes the reins at Everton.
But we’ll be generous and say Arteta gets it done this year.
Prediction: Barcelona
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Unai Emery
Having already been there for three years, it does feel a little like we are getting towards the end days of Emery at Villa.
As to what comes next, it feels like Emery is in the B-tier of managers and so it is unlikely he will walk into an elite club. He could easily get a job at a club with ambitions of Europe – particularly in Spain – but maybe the lure of a final pre-retirement pay-day in the Middle East will be strong…
Prediction: A return to Spain or a stint in Saudi Arabia
Andoni Iraola
Iraola’s star is very much on the rise after an impressive few years at Bournemouth. It’s surely only a matter of time before a bigger club swoops in and takes the former Athletic Bilbao full-back. The question is – which one?
If Manchester United lose faith with Amorim, they may turn to Iraola and the same could be predicted of Chelsea, but the most natural fit seems to be the Etihad.
The impending retirement of Guardiola creates a vacancy at City and Iraola ticks a lot of the boxes in terms of style.
No one wants to be the man who follows Guardiola but Iraola is talented enough to ensure he follows the Slot path rather than the Moyes one.
Prediction: Manchester City
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Keith Andrews
Andrews is very much at the start of his managerial career having been given the Brentford job following Frank’s departure for Spurs, so it is hard to make too many predictions about what might come next.
Brentford are known for being patient so there is every chance he could still be there in five years’ time but if not, a job in the lower end of the Premier League or higher end of the Championship seems likely.
Prediction: Still at Brentford
Fabian Hurzeler
Having overcome a shaky period, Hurzeler looks settled at Brighton now and finished eighth in his first season.
If he continues to improve, he may get snapped up by one of the bigger clubs but he also seems like a natural fit to return to Bayern, having been part of the set-up there during his playing days.
Incumbent Vincent Kompany has just signed a new deal until 2029 meaning Hurzeler could be lined up as a replacement come the end of that contract.
Prediction: Bayern Munich
Scott Parker
While Burnley are not currently in the relegation zone, Parker does have the feel of a manager good enough to win promotion to the Premier League but not good enough to keep a team there.
Luckily for the former West Ham and Chelsea midfielder, being a promotion specialist can be a lucrative business and with three promotions already on his CV, he will not be short of job offers.
Prediction: Winning promotion with a Championship club before getting the sack in the Premier League
Enzo Maresca
An underwhelming start to his second season has meant Maresca is edging dangerously close to the sack at Stamford Bridge.
If that does prove to be the case, it will not be the end of his managerial career but it is hard to predict where he could go from here.
He is one of many Guardiola disciples but a return to City seems unlikely so perhaps he will instead return home and back to Italy.
Prediction: Managing in Serie A
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Oliver Glasner
Glasner looks set to stay at Palace for the immediate future but you do get the feeling he will wind up at one of the top clubs one day.
As to which one, Manchester United is looking increasingly like his most realistic option but Chelsea could also come calling if Maresca goes.
Prediction: Manchester United
David Moyes
It is hard to picture a world where Moyes isn’t a football manager but as the already oldest Premier League boss, there is every chance he has retired in five years.
By then, he would be 67 and ending his career with Everton seems fitting.
Prediction: Retirement
Daniel Farke
Considering there were reports he may even get sacked before the season began, it is safe to say Farke’s position at Leeds is not very secure.
As for what next, Farke has never really proved himself a top-level manager and may find opportunities in England to be limited.
His CV, which includes a stint at Krasnodar, shows he is not afraid to go out of his comfort zone but we reckon in five years’ time, he will be back in Germany.
Prediction: Managing in the Bundesliga
Arne Slot
Slot is one of just 12 managers to have won the league but Liverpool’s form this season has many questioning whether the Dutchman is truly a top-level manager.
You suspect he will work it out eventually but as to whether he stays at Liverpool for the long term, they have traditionally not been a club to chop and change too much; so barring a complete disaster, the Reds will leave the decision to him.
With a new-look squad coming through, Slot may want to stick around for the long haul and see how far he can take the team. If he gets the chance…
Prediction: Still at Liverpool
Pep Guardiola
Have you looked at Jurgen Klopp recently? Sure he may still have the ridiculous Turkey teeth, but his skin looks healthier, there are no bags under his eyes and he looks like he is in the best shape of his post-playing life.
Klopp is very much enjoying the post-manager chill. He’s got himself a cushy gig with Red Bull, he’s got time to go to Ed Sheeran concerts, he’s even got time to appear on podcasts.
Do you know who doesn’t have time? Pep Guardiola.
The uber-obsessive manager has spent almost every day of the last nine years stressing about his Manchester City side and while it has brought an incredible number of trophies, he may now be looking at his former adversary through envious eyes.
Pep’s stay at the Etihad has already been unusually long. A younger version of himself could only cope with four years at Barcelona. His next job saw him stay in Munich for just three years. Guardiola has now been at City for longer than those two gigs combined.
So when it comes to predicting where Guardiola will be in five years? We can be fairly sure the answer is a golf course.
Guardiola has already said he will stop after his contract ends in 2027 and given what he has already achieved, it is hard to see why he would change his mind between now and then.
Prediction: Playing golf
Ruben Amorim
Of the 20 names on this list, this is by far the hardest to predict.
In five years’ time, Amorim could have been long sacked by United or he could be a multiple Premier League winner.
While he would prefer the second option, the good news for Amorim is that a sacking from United is unlikely to be seen as a death knell for his career because plenty of other managers have failed to right that particular ship.
The most likely outcome is that Amorim has this year and maybe the next before United do decide to get rid, and he may then decide to go to a league where his system may have more success.
For some reason, we can just picture him at Napoli.
Prediction: Napoli
Eddie Howe
Eddie Howe has got a good thing going at Newcastle.
An ambitious board with the money to back it up, a city that idolises the club and him, and an exciting squad capable of pushing for the top four this season.
The big question that comes with Howe is the England one. Thomas Tuchel is in the role only until the 2026 World Cup, meaning the FA will again be looking for a new candidate and Howe may be top of their list.
Would he want it though? At 47, Howe is still at the younger end of the management scale and may prefer to stick around in club football for a while longer. If he does stay, we could see a Guardiola-length spell at Newcastle.
Prediction: Staying at Newcastle
Sean Dyche
As sure as the sun rising in the morning, we are confident that in five years’ time, Sean Dyche will be doing exactly as he is now – saving clubs from relegation.
While Dyche and the likes of Sam Allardyce before him may think they are better managers than that, sometimes in football you get pigeonholed and Dyche’s appointments at Everton and now Forest showcase his reputation.
As for five years’ time, take your pick of a club ‘too big to go down’ that is hovering dangerously close to the drop.
Prediction: Saving a Premier League club from relegation
Regis Le Bris
Le Bris was a left-field appointment when Sunderland brought him in last year but it was a gamble that paid off as he guided them back to the top flight.
That achievement is already close to being surpassed by just how well the Black Cats have started the year and Le Bris’ stock has risen just as quickly as the club’s.
Keeping them up will be a tough task but if he achieves that, Le Bris will have earned his stripes as a top-flight boss. That opens up a lot of doors so don’t be surprised to see him in the league for years to come whether that be with Sunderland or another club.
Prediction: Fulham
Thomas Frank
Frank feels like the kind of man who can weather the storm to stay for a long time at a big club, so it’s very possible he is still at Spurs in five years’ time.
If that proves to be the case, you suspect the board will want to have seen serious and consistent improvement, whether that be Champions League qualification or trophies.
Frank certainly has the talent and was at Brentford for seven years, showing he does like to establish roots.
Prediction: Still at Spurs
Nuno Espirito Santo
We can make a prediction about where Nuno won’t be and that’s anywhere near Evangelos Marinakis.
Nuno’s time at Spurs looks to have put an end to any hope of a top-four club job and West Ham feels about the right kind of level for the former goalkeeper.
Him staying at the London Stadium for that long seems unlikely but there is no obvious spot for him. Perhaps a return home to Porto or another job on the continent.
Prediction: Porto
Vitor Pereira
You may as well throw a dart at a map when it comes to predicting where Pereira could go next.
In his career, he has had 18 different managerial jobs across the globe and when his Wolves time is over, which we suspect may be sooner rather than later, he will return to his travels.
Prediction: Managing an obscure club on the edge of the world