Who’s in and who’s out?
UPDATE: Aston Villa have officially appointed Steven Gerrard as their new manager.
The 2021/22 Premier League season has had an exciting start that has provided us with a tight-at-the-top early title race, a few surprise packages and a potential dogfight of a relegation battle.
However, what’s perhaps been the most defining narrative of the season has been the ruthlessness of the club owners.
We’re not yet even midway through November, and only 11 matches into the campaign, yet no less than five Premier League managers have already been shown the door.
Premier League manager sack odds - five already gone
Watford’s
Xisco Munoz
was the first to make way, and was replaced by veteran Italian
Claudio Ranieri. He was followed by
Steve Bruce, who was predictably dispatched following the Saudi takeover, and who has finally been replaced by former Bournemouth manager
Eddie Howe.
Nuno Espirito Santo
was ushered out of the door at Spurs in what looked to be a calculated sacking, as
Antonio Conte
was in the door fairly swiftly.
This past weekend of Premier League action saw a double sacking, with one being perhaps the biggest shock yet. Aston Villa have let go of their manager, and boyhood fan,
Dean Smith
- much to the dismay of a large section of their fanbase.
Perhaps more predictably, Norwich have finally sacked their manager
Daniel Farke. The German has brought the Canaries up from the Championship twice, but his Premier League record just hasn’t been up to scratch.
With both the Villa and the Norwich posts yet to be filled, let’s take a look at the next manager favourites for both jobs…
Next Aston Villa manager odds - Gerrard favourite
UPDATE: Aston Villa have officially appointed Steven Gerrard as their new manager.
Rangers manager
Steven Gerrard
is the current favourite for the Villa job, and is currently 1/4 on with
Betfred
at the time of writing.
There are multiple reports suggesting that the former Liverpool legend is interested in the post, and that Villa could relieve him of his Rangers duties for under £3million.
Should this happen, the relatively small fee will add insult to injury for Rangers fans. Not only will they lose their title-winning manager ahead of a League Cup semi-final and a crucial Europa League tie - they’ll get very little financial compensation at a time when they have just posted substantial running losses.
Gerrard had a good working relationship with Aston Villa CEO Christian Purslow, who was the managing director of Liverpool while he was captain. This could be key to his appointment at Villa, however at the time of writing no formal approach to Rangers has been made.
Lampard and Gerrard - former England teammates both linked with Villa job
Next Villa manager odds - the shortlist
Gerrard looks to very much be the hot favourite for the Villa job, however as we saw with Unai Emery's Newcastle u-turn last week, nothing is certain in football. Aston Villa do have a shortlist though, and we’ve provided the odds of all the favoured candidates below:
Steven Gerrard
- 1/4
Frank Lampard
- 10/1
John Terry
- 10/1
Roberto Martinez
- 12/1
Paulo Fonseca
- 20/1
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Next Norwich manager odds - Lampard’s return?
Despite being on the shortlist for the Aston Villa job, former Derby County and Chelsea manager is the favourite to take over at Norwich, with
Betfred
currently offering odds of 4/7.
The former Chelsea and England midfielder has been out of work since being relieved of his Duties and Chelsea back in January and is thought to be keen to get back into management. However, with just one win and five points so far this season, Norwich sit bottom of the table and the challenge of keeping them up looks to be near-impossible.
Norwich are also thought to be interested in Bodo Glimt manager
Kjetil Knutsen, which would be something of a left field appointment. Knutsen won the Elitserien in Norway with Bodo Glimt last season and led his side to a staggering 6-1 victory over Jose Mourinho’s Roma in the Europa Conference League.
Next Norwich manager odds - the shortlist
Frank Lampard
- 4/7
Kjetil Knutsen
- 3/1
Dean Smith
- 7/1
Luis Boa Morte
- 16/1
Roy Hodgson
- 25/1
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Next Premier League manager sack odds
We might have already seen five managers leave their post after just 11 Premier League games this season, however there is another manager thought to be standing very much on the precipice.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is 4/7 on to leave his post at Manchester United.
It’s been a poor start to the season for United under the Norwegian, despite him being backed by the board and bolstering his squad. He has managed to survive home defeats against rivals Liverpool and Manchester City, but it is now thought that if the board find the right replacement, he will be relieved of his duties at Old trafford.
Next Premier League manager sack odds - in full
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
- 2/5
Claudio Ranieri
- 6/1
Rafa Benitez
- 6/1
Marcelo Bielsa
- 14/1
Ralph Hasenhuttl
- 14/1
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Next Manchester United manager odds
Ole might still currently be at the wheel, however that hasn’t stopped the bookies from taking bets on his replacement already.
Leicester City manager
Brendan Rogers
is emerging as the early favourite to take over at Old Trafford, with some
UK bookmakers
even offering him at 5/6 on.
Should it come to pass, this would be a controversial appointment given his history with Liverpool. Former Reds players, including Steve McManaman have spoken out and advised both Manchester United and Rogers against the appointment because of his history on Merseyside.
However, it is thought that the lure of Manchester United could be impossible for Rogers to turn down.
Next Man U manager odds - the full shortlist
Brendan Rogers
- 5/6
Zinedine Zidane
- 6/1
Mauricio Pochettino
- 6/1
Ralf Rangnick
- 15/2
Erik ten Hag
- 10/1
Will Rogers be packing his bags for Manchester soon?
