The Premier League is regarded by many as the best division in world football. This means it’s little surprise that some of the greatest players and managers currently involved in the beautiful game are plying their trade in the English top flight.
That said, below are the 20 current Premier League bosses ranked from best to worst. In order to come to these conclusions, the following factors have been taken into consideration:
Ranking Factors
Current performances
Honours Won
Premier League Experience
Achievements in Other Leagues
Impact on Their Current Club
1 Pep Guardiola
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola is almost unanimously seen as the best manager in world football, not just in the English top flight. The Catalan-born technician has revolutionised football during his time in the upper echelons of elite football. So much so that his style of possession-based football has been replicated by many bosses looking to emulate his success.
Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti
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2 Arne Slot
Liverpool
3 Mikel Arteta
Arsenal
Mikel Arteta is looking to get one over his former boss after working closely with Guardiola as his assistant manager at the Etihad Stadium. While he has turned Arsenal’s fortunes around in recent years, his young team is yet to usurp the English juggernaut that is Manchester City.
4 Unai Emery
Aston Villa
Unai Emery would perhaps be second on this list based on career achievements in the dugout. After making the Europa League his competition with Sevilla and going extremely close to reaching the Champions League final with Villarreal, the Spanish boss opted to have a second try at English football following a disappointing spell at Arsenal.
Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp shouting, with Sir Alex Ferguson smiling and clapping.
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5 Enzo Maresca
Chelsea
He didn’t stick around for the Foxes’ attempt at remaining in the division, though. Instead, Maresca will have aspirations to qualify for the Champions League in his new role as Chelsea custodian. While he had Leicester playing some attacking and entertaining football, the step-up to the west Londoners is significant, but recent performances suggest that he was the right appointment to get the Blues competing further up the Premier League table. Should their good form continue and if trophies return, then Maresca might well find himself even higher.
Newcastle United
Eddie Howe’s reputation peaked after taking Newcastle United from a relegation dog-fight to the Champions League and the Englishman looked to be destined to go from strength to strength with the mega-rich Magpies. Things hit a snag in the 2023/24 season, however, as a crippling injury crisis in key areas of the squad resulted in an early exit from Europe’s premier competition and the club languishing in mid-table.
7 Thomas Frank
Brentford
Links to jobs as prestigious as the Manchester United and Chelsea managerial positions don’t tend to fall at everyone’s door. While Thomas Frank won’t be stepping out at either Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge as the home manager, the Dane has still undoubtedly caught the eye of several elite clubs in England’s football pyramid.
Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta in action vs Everton
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8 Andoni Iraola
Bournemouth
Following a shaky start and prolonged settling-in period, Iraola has since had Bournemouth purring on the pitch. A hard-working style of play, coupled with the belief he instilled in his players were the recipe for success at the Vitality Stadium as the club reached their highest-ever points tally in the Premier League last time out – usurping the brilliance of former manager Eddie Howe – and proceedings have also started well this time around.
9 Nuno Espirito Santo
Nottingham Forest
His time at Nottingham Forest is not Nuno Espirito Santo’s first foray at the top of English football, as he previously managed both Wolves and Tottenham to varying degrees of success. His time with Spurs was disastrous, showcased by failing to last much more than three months before being replaced by the revered Jose Mourinho.
10 Marco Silva
Fulham
Last season was a strange old campaign for Marco Silva and his west London-based outfit Fulham. The Portuguese tactician turned down a lucrative offer to jump ship to the Saudi Pro League before then losing his star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, who bagged goals for fun under his tenure, to the same division.
11 Fabian Hurzeler
Brighton & Hove Albion
An unknown but largely successful quantity in the Premier League, Brighton & Hove Albion’s new man at the helm, Fabian Hurzeler, has the Seagulls situated smack bang in the middle of the Premier League table after 18 games. He became the youngest permanent head coach in the history of the division after joining in the summer and is the first man to have been born after its inception in 1992, which is an incredible feat in itself, too.
12 Ange Postecoglou
Tottenham Hotspur
Way back in the summer of 2023, the mood surrounding Tottenham Hotspur was perpetually negative given their continued failures in cup competitions and league standings. The failed spells of serial winners Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte had left even the most optimistic Spurs fans feeling bleak about the club’s prospects.
13 Ruben Amorim
Manchester United
the-x-greatest-managers-in-manchester-united-history_720
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14 Oliver Glasner
Crystal Palace
Many Premier League fans wouldn’t have been familiar with the exploits of Oliver Glasner before he joined Crystal Palace to replace Roy Hodgson. However, English football supporters are now acutely aware of the Austrian as he had the Eagles soaring in the final months of the 2023-24 season – even if life now looks a little more difficult without the talismanic Michael Olise.
15 Sean Dyche
Everton
imager
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He’s never one to look for excuses and hasn’t ever bemoaned the financial limitations he’s had to work under at Goodison Park. Dyche managed to take a lesser-talented Burnley to Europe after all, so his managerial abilities, especially when it comes to managing sides that are destined for a relegation battle, should not be in doubt. After a poor start to the 2024/25 season, things are slowly turning around for the Toffees, which only further authenticates his power to find silver linings in any cloud.
16 Julen Lopetegui
West Ham United
Julen Lopetegui is back in the Premier League, this time as West Ham United’s first-team manager, after leaving fellow top-tier side Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 2023. The outspoken Spaniard previously occupied the dugout at Molineux Stadium before departing his former side just days before the start of the 2023-24 season.
17 Kieran McKenna
Ipswich Town
Kieran McKenna and the Ipswich Town crest.
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He was formerly a coach at Old Trafford under the much-beloved Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but the 38-year-old decided to leave and pursue his own career in the hot seat. His first foray into the world of football management couldn’t have gone much better to date, but he’s currently facing his biggest challenge to date as he tries to keep Ipswich in the top flight. Whether that will prove too onerous come May, with them struggling with the hustle and bustle of Premier League action, remains unknown – but his man-management and likability factor is something that cannot be ignored.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Gary O’Neil could rightly have felt hard done by to lose his job at Wolves after bemoaning the club’s lack of investment and direction after losing millions and millions worth of players – think Pedro Neto, Ruben Neves, Adama Traore and Joao Moutinho departing Molineux to align the club with FFP regulations – in the previous windows. He had a point, of course, but was sacked and swiftly replaced by Vitor Pereira just before Christmas.
19 Ivan Juric
Southampton
Ivan Juric
The axe was swung after their 5-0 loss to Postecoglou’s Spurs and Ivan Juric, a seasoned manager in Italy, was pinpointed as their preferred candidate. He has since signed on the dotted line but is yet to take up his position in the dugout – and, as such, it is tough to give him a spot above 19th. Looking to change things around on the south coast, the former AS Roma and Genoa man best be up to the task of keeping Saints in the top tier.
20 Ruud van Nistelrooy
Leicester City
Though van Nistelrooy’s managerial resume is still in its early stages, his impressive interim stint at Manchester United – where he secured three wins and a draw while filling in the blank space between Ten Hag and Amorim – has fuelled excitement among Leicester fans. Now stepping into a permanent role for the first time since achieving a 64.71% win rate as PSV’s manager, van Nistelrooy’s success in the east Midlands has not been great. He’s not won a game in four after his first game in charge – a 3-1 win over West Ham. His track record and passion continue to offer plenty of promise for the King Power faithful.
