Five managers who could take a seat in the Premier League dugout this season

History tells us that the managerial merry-go-round doesn’t usually explode into action until October, however you simply never know when a gaffer is going to lose his job. A little bit of pressure can suddenly become an avalanche, with both supporters and players calling for your head.

Below we take a look at five recently unemployed managers who are currently twiddling their thumbs in the Sack Race Job Centre.

Roberto Mancini

• Age: 51
• Available Since: August 2016
• Former Teams: Inter Milan, Man City, Lazio, Fiorentina, Galatasaray.
• Achievements: Premier League & Serie A titles, cup success in England, Italy & Turkey.

Roberto Mancini enjoyed a whirlwind three-and-a-half-seasons in charge of Man City, during which he led the club to their first Premier League title, however his failings in Europe cost him his job at the Etihad.

Prior to the City job Mancini had immense success in Italy, winning an abundance of league titles and domestic cups with Inter Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina. A brief spell in charge of Galatasaray came shortly after his exit from City, before returning to Inter in 2014, however he was unable to inspire a transformation in fortunes, and left the club earlier this month.

After a number of hectic years in the managerial arena, few would begrudge Mancini some time off from the stresses and strains of being a manager. However, the drug of the dugout will surely lure him back at some point in the near future.

Manuel Pellegrini

• Age: 62
• Available Since: June 2016
• Former Teams: Man City, Malaga, Real Madrid, Villarreal & a host of teams in Chile, Argentina and Ecuardor.
• Achievements: Premier League, 2 League Cups, Intertoto Cup, plus cups in Argentina & Chile.

Mancini’s successor, Manuel Pellegrini, is also waiting in the wings, having left City earlier this summer. The Chilean also hoisted the Premier League with the Citizens, while last term saw the club reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in their history.

Since leaving the club Pellegrini has been linked with both Everton and Southampton, as well as the Chilean national team, however he has yet to make his move back into the dugout, and has even reportedly contemplated retiring altogether. But, importantly the 62-year-old is leaving his options open, and still remains in his abode in the North West of England.

Marcelo Bielsa

• Age: 61
• Available Since: July 2016
• Former Teams: Argentina, Marseille, Chile, Espanyol, Lazio, Newell’s Old Boys, & teams in Argentina & Mexico.
• Achievements: Three league titles in Argentina, Olympic gold medal with Argentina.

Marcelo Bielsa is widely regarded as one of the most innovative managers of his generation. The master tactician, nicknamed “El Loco” (the crazy one), is famed for his meticulous and intense approach to the beautiful game.

The engaging Argentine’s methods have enraptured and influenced a number of top notch coaches, including both Pep Guardiola, who lauded the 61-year-old as the ‘best coach in the world’, and Mauricio Pochettino.

England is currently home to some of the best managers in world football, and what an honour it would be to have this man jet over to these shores for the first time in his career. The well-travelled Argentine has managed in Argentina, Spain and France, but has never graced the Premier League. Last season Bielsa was linked with surprise move to Swansea, but didn’t return to the managerial arena until July when he took charge of Lazio in for all of two days.

Despite his huge impact on tactics and strategy, one criticism on his CV is the lack of trophies - just three league titles in Argentina and an Olympic gold medal with the country’s national team during a dugout career that began in 1990. One reason for this is Bielsa’s teams often run out of steam due to his physically shattering ethic, however this doesn’t shadow was has so far been a compelling 26 years in the managerial arena.

Laurent Blanc

• Age: 50
• Available Since: June 2016
• Former Teams: PSG, France and Bordeaux
• Achievements: Ligue 1, multiple French domestic cups

Laurent Blanc has a whole host of accolades from his time spent in charge of French sides Bordeaux and PSG, winning four league titles, a brace of French Cups, four French League Cups, and five Trophee des Champions.

Sandwiched in between these spells was a two year tenure at the helm of the French national team, although a quarter-final round showing at Euro 2012 was nothing special.

Blanc left PSG earlier in the summer. Despite huge domestic success it was PSG’s failure to progress past the quarter-finals of the Champions League - on three consecutive occasions - which ultimately cost him his job.

Blanc may now fancy managing outside of his homeland for the first time in his career, and having played in Italy, Spain and England he’ll no doubt be eyeing up a return to one of these countries ASAP.

Steve Bruce

• Age: 55
• Available Since: August 2016
• Former Teams: Hull, Sunderland, Wigan, Birmingham, Crystal Palace, Huddersfield, Sheff Utd
• Achievements: Two promotions apiece with Birmingham & Wolves

Steve Bruce may not quite have the glittering career of other managers on this list, however none of them have amassed as many Premier League matches in the dugout as the 61-year-old, who is just shy of 400 - a staggering number. In fact, only five gaffers have ever overseen more in the division since its inauguration in 1992.

Managing one of the Premier League’s top clubs may be missing from the England interviewee’s CV, but the 55-year-old does have a total of four promotions up to the Premier League with Birmingham and Hull, the latter of which he surprisingly left earlier in August, just three weeks ahead of the new season.

It’s unknown whether Bruce will now take some time out of the managerial arena, but if a top-flight vacancy does arise he’ll inevitably be linked with it.