Manager Madness: European clubs seeking a manager ahead of the 2026/27 season
We witnessed a number of managerial changes midway in the 2025/26 season for quite a few European clubs. Some of them changed the fortunes of their teams while others couldn’t make any real impact and were sacked within a short period. There are many top European clubs who are still looking for a manager or a head-coach to take charge ahead of next season.
Here we take a look at the clubs that are still seeking a new manager and what are the options they could go for
Real Madrid
Real Madrid had brought in Xabi Alonso as a replacement for the outgoing Carlo Ancelotti ahead of the 2025/26 season. Alonso didn’t fare too badly but the extremely high expectations at the club and reports of disagreements with the squad led to his sacking within a span of four months. Former player and Real Madrid’s B team coach Alvaro Arbeloa took charge as the interim manager. He helped Real Madrid to a second-place finish and Champions League qualification but Los Blancos went trophyless again.
There has been news about Real Madrid’s President Florentino Pérez already having singled out former coach José Mourinho as the Real Madrid manager for the upcoming season. However, it’s only a given if Perez wins the Club’s Presidential elections. If not, they could look at other options as well. There have been earlier speculations around former Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp but the rumours were quashed by the German as he is not interested in a coaching job currently.
Alternative options could be Didier Deschamps, Mauricio Pochettino and Didier Deschamps, two of whom are currently working with the French and American National teams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Manchester City
With Pep Guardiola announcing his departure in May 2026, Manchester city is another big club that could be looking at prospective managers. Replacing one of the best managers of all time is a challenging task and it would already be discussed by the Man City hierarchy.
Although the prime candidate seems to be previous assistant-coach Enzo Maresca and how he is going to handle the challenging situation. Man City is in a transitional phase with several new players arriving last summer. Along with Guardiola, City also had two of their really experienced pros leaving in Bernardo Silva and John Stones which would certainly be a massive loss.
Though Maresca is the prime candidate due to his assistance to Guardiola and having worked with the youth setup, he is well aware about the workings of the club and may suit them. Although there have been speculations that Man City was also looking at other candidates like former player and current Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany, City had already held talks with Maresca and possibly have a verbal agreement from the Italian with an announcement imminent.
Crystal Palace
Oliver Glasner has departed Crystal Palace after a successful two-year tenure and winning them multiple silverware – the FA Cup in 2024/25 and the Community Shield and the UEFA Conference League in the 2025/26 season. Unfortunately, his relationship remained in conflict with the Crystal Palace hierarchy which could have been a massive reason for him not being able to continue at the club.
Palace are now looking for a replacement with a number of names coming up in speculation. RC Lens coach Pierre Sage is the prime candidate now according to online reports. Sage has done a remarkable job with Lens in the French Ligue 1, taking them to mid-table obscurity to the UEFA Champions League with a second-place finish this season. They were primarily interested in former Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola but he preferred a move to Liverpool. The Eagles had also explored other targets like Frank Lampard who recently guided Coventry City to promotion but seemed to believe that his compensation package and
According to the BBC, Palace are set to hold talks with the Frenchman Sage over the next few days and that could decide whether they can secure the services of the Frenchman. If it does happen, it would indeed be a superb signing for the South Londoners.
AC Milan
Italian giants AC Milan are another big European club, still looking for a new manager to lead them next season. Head-coach Massimiliano Allegri was sacked after the dismal 2025/26 campaign where the Rossoneri couldn’t even qualify for the Champions League.
With the AC Milan management undergoing a restructure, their board led by Gerry Cardinale and Zlatan Ibrahimovic is currently looking at several high-profile managerial candidates. Former Palace coach, Glasner has come out as prime candidate now as he has held positive talks with the club and could be the favourite for the job now. Glasner left Crystal Palace following a two-year tenure winning two major trophies with the Eagles with a limited squad and a modest budget.
USA National team coach Mauricio Pochettino and Al-Ahli manager Mattheus Jaissle have also been identified as alternative potential targets if negotiations with Glasner don’t materialise into an appointment as the head-coach.
Fulham
Premier League club Fulham is also looking for a new managerial appointment with the departure of former coach Marco Silva to Benfica after the end of the 2025/26 season.
Fulham ended the 2025/26 Premier League season in 11th place as they struggled for consistency all season. Silva had managed to get them promoted to the top division following his first season (21/22) and turned them in a highly competitive team with some great attacking football in his five-year tenure. Silva decided to leave after the expiry of his contract this summer.
Fulham is currently looking at potential candidates and according to online reports, Kieran McKenna, Thomas Frank and even former Liverpool coach Arne Slot are on their radar. However, their prime candidate is Ipswich Town boss McKenna but they would need to trigger his £8 million release clause to pry him away from Portman Road.
With no agreement as yet, it would be interesting to see who ends up at the Craven Cottage dugout in the 2026/27 season.
