Eight Potential Destinations for Andoni Iraola

Andoni Iraola’s decision not to sign a new contract at Bournemouth will put one of the highest-rated young managers on the market ahead of next season.

Iraola, 43, has given the Cherries a clear identity since arriving in the summer of 2023, improving the players that have worked under him—several have left the club in big-money transfers to elite teams.

But the two-year contract the Spaniard signed in 2024 will end in June and, as reported by The Athletic, Bournemouth’s efforts to negotiate new terms are set to fail.

Iraola has done excellent things with the club, but his ambition is set higher than the Premier League’s smallest team with clear limitations and low ceilings that will be tough to break. His track record over the past three seasons is sufficient evidence that he deserves a bigger stage.

8. Real Madrid

Los Blancos fired Xabi Alonso. | Ismael Adnan Yaqoob/Anadolu/Getty Images

In reality, Real Madrid might be a step too far for Iraola at this stage of his career, but heading back to Spain to the bright lights of the Bernabéu is not completely impossible because he is an impressive manager prospect that would excite domestic fans as a Spaniard.

Xabi Alonso was swallowed up and spat out within a matter of months and had both a higher profile than Iraola and a stronger record of success because of his trophies with Bayer Leverkusen. One of the biggest criticisms of Alonso following his dismissal was trying to do too much and an eagerness to coach players who didn’t want or need to be coached.

7. Liverpool

Arne Slot has been under pressure. | Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

Should Liverpool find themselves in pursuit of a new manager this summer, Iraola would surely be towards the top of the list given his Premier League pedigree, ability to improve talented young players—Reds left back Milos Kerkez can attest to that—and his high-energy style of play.

The key condition of that even being a possibility is what happens to Arne Slot.

It doesn’t currently seem as though the Dutchman, who won the Premier League title in his first season at Anfield but has struggled to rebuild Liverpool in his own image since, is going anywhere.

He has publicly stated his belief that club officials are behind him and reporting on the subject suggests that is true. Liverpool’s chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League is also strong, given Chelsea’s poor results and fifth place now being good enough.

But, if anything changes suddenly, it would be wise to keep Iraola’s contract details close by.

6. Manchester United

Michael Carrick is not permanent Man Utd boss just yet. | Visionhaus/Getty Images

There is a greater likelihood that someone new will be on Manchester United’s bench next season, as the club nears crunch time on who to appoint as Ruben Amorim’s permanent successor.

The Portuguese coach left in January and has been admirably replaced in the interim period by modern Old Trafford legend Michael Carrick. The 44-year-old has done a good job so far and looks set to achieve his chief objective: secure Champions League qualification.

It was reported last month that United had not yet approached any alternative candidates, essentially making it Carrick’s job to lose as long as results were sufficiently good enough. But there is still time for the club to assess the situation in more detail.

As Bournemouth manager, Iraola has overseen impressive results against United, unbeaten across all six meetings since 2023 and winning 3–0 at Old Trafford in both 2023–24 and 2024–25.

5. Atalanta

Atalanta players — Atalanta have a lot of potential. | Alessio Morgese/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Juventus might have been an option until the Serie A giants very recently extended Luciano Spalletti’s contract until 2028. But it does not mean Italy is a no-go for Iraola.

Thanks to the work of legendary former boss Gian Piero Gasperini—now with Roma—Atalanta have emerged as one of Serie A’s strongest clubs. But there is still plenty left to achieve, including a maiden scudetto and the first major domestic silverware in more than 60 years.

Raffaele Palladino is currently in charge. Things appeared to be heading towards an extension on a contract that already runs to 2027, but senior executive Luca Percassi recently told Sky Sport Italia that talks are “postponed” while crucial matches are played. Following Champions League humiliation, the season could fall apart, but it’s also feasible that Atalanta win the Coppa Italia.

In Serie A, two wins in six games—including a defeat to Juventus at home last time out—has put distance between Atalanta and the top six places to qualify for the European competitions. For a club that won the Europa League in 2023–24 and has grown accustomed to Champions League involvement after qualifying in five of the last seven seasons, to have no UEFA action on the schedule at all is potentially intolerable. It could be made for a fresh start, with Iraola a good match.

4. Tottenham Hotspur

Consider the scenario. Spurs are relegated from the Premier League and Roberto De Zerbi, despite signing a five-year contract on April 1, leaves. The volatile Italian has not been known throughout his career for sticking around, with Spurs already his seventh job since 2016.

Dropping out of the Premier League for the EFL Championship would be a short-term step down for Iraola. But what it offers is a blank slate to start from the bottom and rebuild a club that, at its best, has the potential to challenge in the Premier League and Champions League.

Spurs are crying out for a reset moment and he could effectively create a club-wide project in his own image. Unlike at Bournemouth, the ceiling is enormous.

3. Chelsea

Chelsea’s decision to hand Liam Rosenior a six-year contract at the start of 2026 highlighted a commitment to the wider BlueCo vision. But, ultimately. results on the pitch have to justify that long-term faith and they simply do not. Since needing extra time to beat Wrexham in the FA Cup, it’s five losses and only a single win, which came against Port Vale—bottom of EFL League One.

Champions League qualification looks increasingly unlikely and Chelsea, in the title race in November, are within three points of falling into the bottom half.

Chelsea have gone backwards since Enzo Maresca fell out with the club hierarchy. And while that isn’t solely Rosenior’s fault, there is only one person who will pay the price.

Iraola is exactly the kind of manager Chelsea would go for. But plenty would hinge on whether he wants to get in bed with a volatile club that is proving once more to be ruled by chaos.

2. Athletic Club

Andoni Iraola — Iraola was an Athletic Club player. | Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

Ernesto Valverde’s confirmed Athletic Club departure this summer creates a job that would represent the romantic choice for Iraola. He was born and raised in the Spain’s proud Basque region and played more than 500 matches for the team during his own career as a right back.

Last month, Iraola called Valverde his “biggest reference” in soccer. However, there have been reports that Athletic Club are already quite far down the road with Edin Terzić, who took Borussia Dortmund to the 2024 Champions League final.

There also appears to have been some hesitance from Iraola about whether now is the right time to go back. That said, him being available and the job coming open, might be difficult to ignore.

1. Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace players — Crystal Palace is like the next rung on the ladder. | Jacques Feeney/Offside/Getty Images

One look at the Premier League table and Crystal Palace seems like a step backwards from Bournemouth. But the Eagles are a club more primed for success—having already won the FA Cup in 2025—and are the biggest team outside from England’s elite in need of a new manager.

Oliver Glasner is leaving this summer and could feasibly bow out by delivering the UEFA Conference League, despite a disappointing Premier League campaign that looks set to finish with a place in the bottom half of the standings.

Glasner had clear frustrations with the Palace hierarchy last summer and into the January transfer window over the way player sales were handled, which may have pushed him towards the door. It means Iraola would require assurances that the Eagles are firmly on his page when it comes to developing the squad and kicking on after demonstrating clear potential to win trophies.

Given that top-level managerial experience is the thing that most counts against Iraola, Palace could represent a stepping stone that mutually benefits both parties.

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