The demographic of the Premier League dugout is set to change over the next few years in post-Brexit Britain, with new rules making it harder for clubs to appoint foreign managers having come into force.
As exclusively revealed by Sportsmail on Wednesday, foreign managers moving to the UK to work now have to qualify for a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) from the FA. To qualify for a GBE, a manager must have been working in one of Europe’s top five leagues for two consecutive years, or for three of the previous five years.
Under those new rules, Manchester United would not have been able to appoint Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Leeds could not have brought in Marcelo Bielsa.
Manchester United would not be able to appoint Ole Gunnar Solskjaer under the new rules
There are currently 10 British managers working in the Premier League – with seven of those in the bottom half of the table – but that number is likely to steadily increase over next few years as clubs are forced to look closer to home for their new bosses – be they an ambitious club looking for a long-term project or a relegation-battler needing someone to step in on short notice.
So, who is out there? Sportsmail has compiled a list of 10 British bosses we could soon be seeing in the Premier League – from England legends to wily veterans.
OUT OF WORK…
Frank Lampard
The Brexit block on foreign managers comes as good news for Lampard following his sacking by Chelsea.
Harsh as it was, having just one season in the Championship at Derby – where he lost the play-off final – was not proper preparation for managing a Champions League club and a mid-table Premier League club would be more to his suiting for now.
With a new baby on the way, Lampard is unlikely to take any jobs that may come up before end of the season, but a new challenge in 2021-22 could be on the cards for the Blues legend and his all-British coaching staff.
Frank Lampard was sacked by Chelsea last month and is currently out of work
Eddie Howe
The former Bournemouth boss is enjoying a year out of management after he left the club following their relegation last summer.
He’ll know that timing is everything in football, however, and if he doesn’t take a job this summer his achievements on the south coast will start to become a distant memory.
The new Brexit rules are likely to swing any 50/50 decisions in his favour, so we could be seeing the 43-year-old back in the Premier League this year.
Eddie Howe is enjoying a break from management after eight years at Bournemouth
UP AND COMING…
John Terry
The former Chelsea captain’s stock as a coach has risen dramatically this season with Aston Villa flying high in the top half.
Having had the second-worst defence in the Premier League last season, Villa now have the joint-fourth best and ex-defender Terry will be taking at least some of the credit as Dean Smith’s assistant since 2018.
Increasingly linked with vacant jobs – the latest being Bournemouth – it feels as though this may be the 40-year-old’s last season at Villa and he represents a good option for any club looking for a young British boss.
Aston Villa have enjoyed an upturn in form this season under Dean Smith and John Terry
Wayne Rooney
From one former England captain to another, Rooney is following the Lampard route by taking his first steps in management with Derby.
The Rams were deep in relegation trouble when Rooney took over and are still in the drop zone on goal difference, but he has won more than he has lost in his 15 matches in charge.
Should Derby survive comfortably then the Manchester United legend may start to be talked about for vacant Premier League positions.
Wayne Rooney has taken on his first managerial role with Championship strugglers Derby
BEST OF THE EFL…
Steve Cooper
Widely regarded as the best young British manager outside the Premier League, Cooper has continued Graham Potter’s good work at Swansea and has them challenging for automatic promotion on a limited budget having lost a play-off semi-final last season.
Remarkably, Welshman Cooper – who spent 10 years coaching England and Liverpool’s youth teams before taking the Swansea job in 2019 – is the only British manager in the top six of the Championship and three of them – Norwich’s Daniel Farke, Watford’s Xisco Munoz and Reading’s Veljko Paunovic – would be ineligible under the new Brexit rules.
Swansea’s Welsh manager Steve Cooper, 41, is the top British boss in the Football League
Michael Appleton
With the Championship packed full of foreign and journeyman bosses, you have to drop down into League One to find some of the Football League’s best young British managers.
Appleton, 45, has Lincoln top of the table and on course for their first season in the second tier since 1961, with a team full of young players and a brand of exciting, attacking football.
If Lincoln do win promotion, he may become an option for bottom-half Premier League teams looking for a summer change.
Lincoln are on course for promotion to the Championship under Michael Appleton
NORTH OF THE BORDER…
Steven Gerrard
A man that needed no introduction as a player, this is the season when Gerrard has really announced himself a manager, with Rangers unbeaten and on course for their first title in 10 years.
The bookies’ favourite to replace Jurgen Klopp when he leaves Anfield, Gerrard may fancy a stepping-stone Premier League job before returning to Liverpool.
Any ambitious club looking to make a change in the next year or two may look his way now with it becoming harder to appoint foreign bosses.
Steven Gerrard could be an attractive prospect for an ambitious Premier League club
Jack Ross
Isn’t he that bloke who failed at Sunderland? Yes, and in front of our eyes on Netflix’s award-winning Sunderland ‘Til I Die documentary, but plenty of good managers have struggled at Sunderland of late and while a League One play-off final defeat was painful, Ross’ time in the North East was hardly an unmitigated disaster.
His career has since continued on the upward trajectory it was on before, with Hibernian currenly sitting third in the Scottish Premiership.
The 44-year-old represents a cheap, British alternative for any club struggling in the bottom half of the Premier League.
Jack Ross has rebuilt his reputation at Hibernian and could be a contender for a top flight job
GOLDEN OLDIES….
Tony Mowbray
The 57-year-old is doing a fine job at Blackburn, winning promotion from League One in his first full season in charge in 2017-18 and steadily climbing the Championship since, with Rovers in eighth place and pushing for a play-off place.
His one Premier League season as a manager came way back in 2008-09 after winning the Championship with West Brom and he will fancy another crack at it, whether with Blackburn or a Premier League club willing to give him a chance.
Tony Mowbray has worked wonders at Blackburn and may fancy another Premier League job
Mick McCarthy
The Brexit block on foreign bosses means the left-field, foreign stop-gap appointment may be a thing of the past, with struggling Premier League clubs forced instead to look at British alternatives.
Of the current Championship crop, 62-year-old McCarthy – though only four unbeaten matches into his Cardiff reign – would be the best suited to such an appointment should a club require his services in the next year or two.
Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock, 72, has vowed never to work in the Premier League again.
Mick McCarthy has enjoyed a fine start at Cardiff and could be ideal for a fire-fighting role