LONDON — Nine clubs will enter the new English Premier League season, which kicks off on Friday, under new management. However, none will feel the pressure quite like Italy's Enzo Maresca and Spain's Andoni Iraola and Xabi Alonso.
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The league has not seen this level of managerial turnover prior to an opening day since the 1946–1947 season—the first following World War II.
This wave of changes means Manchester United manager Michael Carrick, who only arrived at Old Trafford in January, is now the tenth longest-serving current manager in the league.
Maresca, Iraola, and Alonso will face the highest degree of scrutiny as they begin challenging assignments at Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea, respectively.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) highlights the three high-profile appointments:
Enzo Maresca
Maresca spoke of "coming home" after his appointment as Manchester City manager, but he already faces immense pressure following a rocky start in the daunting task of succeeding Spain's Pep Guardiola.
Maresca knows the club well, having managed the Under-23 side during the 2020–2021 season before returning in 2022–2023 as one of Guardiola's key assistants. During that spell, he contributed to the team's historic treble—winning the Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League—before launching his senior managerial career at Leicester City in the Championship.
He subsequently guided Leicester back to the top flight before moving to Chelsea, where he won the Conference League and the FIFA Club World Cup during a turbulent 18-month tenure.
Manchester City confirmed that the 46-year-old had long been identified as a candidate to succeed Guardiola, who secured 20 trophies during a golden decade in Manchester. While Maresca spoke of the "privilege" and "challenge" of following in his former mentor's footsteps, a lackluster performance in a 3-0 Community Shield defeat to champions Arsenal on Sunday suggests a massive job lies ahead if he is to lead the club to its first league title since 2024.
Andoni Iraola
"I want to earn the right to be one of you," the 44-year-old Iraola told Liverpool supporters after replacing Arne Slot at Anfield.
Slot was dismissed just 12 months after leading the Reds to a joint-record 20th league title, following a sharp decline in results last season. Hired for his tactical acumen, the Spaniard is expected to restore the high-intensity attacking football that defined Liverpool under beloved former manager Jürgen Klopp.
Iraola caught Liverpool's attention through his work at Bournemouth, where he steadily elevated the club's league standings during his three seasons in charge. By finishing sixth last season, the South Coast side qualified for European competition for the first time in its history.
While Iraola spoke of the "magic" of managing Liverpool in his opening press conference, he is fully aware that he has taken a massive step up, where expectations and pressure will far exceed anything he has encountered to date.
Xabi Alonso
Alonso was long linked with the Liverpool job—where he won the Champions League as a player—but fate has brought him to Chelsea for the next chapter of his managerial career.
His managerial breakthrough came in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen, leading them to an unprecedented unbeaten domestic double in the 2023–2024 season. That success earned him the head role at his former club Real Madrid, but his tenure at the Santiago Bernabéu unravelled quickly, ending in his departure in January after less than eight months.
Alonso admitted that his early exit from Real Madrid left a "scar," but insisted it has healed as he looks forward to this new chapter.
The 44-year-old’s primary mission is to restore stability to Chelsea following a chaotic season that began under Maresca and concluded under Liam Rosenior. The Blues struggled to a tenth-place finish, prompting heavy activity in the transfer market, headlined by the signing of Morgan Rogers in a deal that made him the most expensive British player in history.
While the absence of European football may grant Alonso valuable time to mold the squad to his vision, managing a bloated roster with fewer matches will complicate his task of keeping players satisfied as he seeks to bring much-needed stability to the club.
