The bookies favourite to be first Premier League manager sacked in new season
Hull City manager Sergej Jakirovic is the bookmakers' favourite to be the first Premier League manager sacked as the new season starts this week.
The 2026-27 Premier League season will soon be underway as Arsenal host newly-promoted Coventry City on Friday night.
Fans have grown used to seeing managers come and go at the top level in recent years, with eight different Premier League bosses being relieved of their duties during last season.
Nuno Espirito Santo was the first to be sacked as Nottingham Forest made an early decision on 8 September, so most current managers should be on high alert as it stands.
Jakirovic is the bookies' current favourite, as Hull prepare to return to the top flight as huge underdogs following their play-off victory.
Tigers owner Acun Ilicali has not been afraid to wield the axe since he took over in 2022, and his patience is not expected to last once again as they chase Premier League safety.
Sergej Jakirovic is the 5/2 favourite to be the next PL manager sacked
The managerial merry-go-round has seen eight new managers arrive at Premier League clubs since the end of last season.
Eddie Howe is the latest to leave his role, after he parted ways with Newcastle and was replaced by Matthias Jaissle at the start of August.
Hull's unlikely promotion has seen them spend over £50million on new signings so far this summer, but that figure is still dwarfed by fellow new boys Coventry and Ipswich.
They kick off their PL campaign at home to Man United on Saturday, and Jakirovic may well need a fast start to avoid losing his job.
Several top British bookmakers have installed the 49-year-old as the favourite to be the next Premier League manager sacked, with odds as short as 5/2.
Behind him are Ipswich's Gary O'Neil (4/1), Fulham's Alvaro Arbeloa, Coventry's Frank Lampard and Newcastle boss Jaissle (all 7/1).
What has Acun Ilicali said about Jakirovic's future?
More signings are expected between now and the close of the window, with sources telling Football Insider that Hull hold an interest in Rangers midfielder Nico Raskin.
Turkish owner Ilicali has seen six different managers come and go in his four-and-a-half years at the helm in East Yorkshire, but has insisted that he will stand by Jakirovic.
When asked if he thinks Jakirovic will still be in post a year from now in a recent interview with The Mail, he said: “Yes, yes, yes. Some things happen unexpectedly in life. It’s like that in marriage. Are you always together until death? No. But if there are some failures, it will not be Sergej’s fault.
“Maybe the players will be young, inexperienced, new to the Premier League. Of course, I will stand by him if he loses games. I will not be judging him by the position in the table. It will be what can we do more to make him successful.”