Stephen Bradley named among coaches tipped for Premier League chance
Our colleagues in the Mirror UK have scouted five unheralded names who could be next to get their chance in the Premier League
When Brighton revealed Fabian Hurzeler as their new head coach in the summer, the general reaction was, ‘Fabian who?’.
The 31-year-old had just led St Pauli to promotion in the Bundesliga but he was nowhere to be seen on the bookies’ shortlist of names to replace Roberto De Zerbi at the Amex Stadium.
Fast forward six months and the Seagulls have lost just twice in the Premier League and sit sixth in the table.
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Hurzeler is the new poster boy for the movement away from old-school British managers to progressive coaches from across Europe.
Jimmy Thelin, plucked by Aberdeen from Swedish side Elfsborg earlier this year, has set Scottish football alight with 16 wins from his first 18 games while at Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso, Will Still of Lens and Ajax coach Francesco Farioli have forged reputations for themselves to show the conveyor belt of managerial talent shows no sign of slowing.
With a number of English clubs wondering whether to stick or twist with their bosses, our colleagues at the Mirror UK have scouted five unheralded names who could be next to get their chance in the Premier League, including Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley.
Here is their list of managers to watch:
Kim Hellberg – Hammarby
When QPR came calling for Marti Cifuentes a year ago, Hammarby turned to Hellberg and have not looked back since.
The 36-year-old has just led the Stockholm club to only the third second-placed finish in their history and boasts a win ratio of almost 53 percent.
After an unspectacular playing career in the Swedish lower leagues, Hellberg began coaching early and his work at IFK Varnamo caught Hammarby’s eye.
He held talks with Sunderland after they sacked Tony Mowbray a year ago but they decided, wrongly in hindsight, to go for Michael Beale, and his name was recently in the hat for the Hearts job.
Suitors may also be tempted by the fact Hellberg, who prefers a 4-2-3-1 system, could take Bazoumana Toure, 18, with him to his next club. The Ivory Coast winger already has admirers in the Premier League and La Liga.
Vasco Matos – Santa Clara
The Azores is known as one of the world’s most breathtaking holiday destinations but there is an unlikely football story developing there.
Last season, Vasco Matos guided Santa Clara – the westernmost top-flight club in Europe, some 900 miles from Lisbon – to the Liga Portugal 2 title and in this campaign they find themselves the best of the rest behind the dominant trio of Porto, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon. The success of a year ago was built upon a defence that leaked only 19 goals in 34 games and Matos – a three-at-the-back disciple – has 31 wins from his 53 games in charge.
His playing days, spent almost exclusively in his native Portugal, brought no great success but as a coach the 44-year-old has come into his own.
Up next for him and Santa Clara is an away game at Sporting Lisbon, the start of the post-Ruben Amorim era.
Ola Werner – Werder Bremen
Bremen’s gradual decline from winning the Bundesliga title in 2004 reached a low point three years ago when they plummeted into the second tier.
But former Holstein Kiel boss Werner, 36, arrived at the club in November 2021 and proceeded to win his first seven games in charge.
Promotion back to the top flight duly followed and Werner (left) has now firmly re-established Bremen among the German elite.
His preferred 3-4-2-1 formation plays to the strengths of big central striker Marvin Ducksch.
Stephen Bradley – Shamrock Rovers
Despite being denied a remarkable fifth League of Ireland title in a row by Damien Duff’s Shelbourne in recent weeks, Bradley’s reputation continues to grow thanks to his impressive work in Dublin.
An outsider for the Republic of Ireland job that eventually went to Heimir Hallgrimsson, the 40-year-old has been in charge of Rovers since 2016, when he left his role as Arsenal’s chief scout. Bradley, who has been linked with jobs in England and Scotland, has guided them up to seventh spot in the Europa Conference League table.
Three centre-backs form the bedrock of the Rovers line-up under a boss who loves marauding wing-backs and is just one win away from the 200th of his Tallaght reign.
Borja Jimenez – Leganes
After a successful spell with fallen giants Deportivo La Coruna, Borja Jimenez led Leganes to the second-tier title last season.
The 39-year-old, who never played professionally, cut his coaching teeth within AC Milan’s academy. While he does have a number of clubs on his CV already, his stops at Avila and Mirandes ended with favourable win percentages.
An eye-catching home win over Sevilla before the international break lifted Leganes to 14th in La Liga.
Jimenez builds his teams from the back and relies on counter-attacking football – and as a manager with a reputation for being strong on set-pieces, he could be tailor-made for the English game.
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