Andoni Iraola is the man for Manchester United and INEOS must pull off a ruthless repeat of the mid-season Ruben Amorim raid to secure his services…
High-flying AFC Bournemouth kicked off gameweek seven of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign at home against Fulham in testing conditions as 50mph winds hit the south coast.
As they usually do, Bournemouth, who are third in our first-half Premier League table, made a bright start and threatened through in-form Antoine Semenyo, but failed to test Bernd Leno in his 250th Premier League appearance.
The same can be said for Fulham, who did not register an attempt until the 20th minute, with the combined first-half xG of 0.22 telling you everything you need to know about the dull opening 45 minutes.
Thankfully, the second half was much better, which is thanks mainly to three great moments produced by Bournemouth.
Ryan Sessegnon had injury-ravaged Fulham on course for a 1-0 win after breaking the deadlock, though Bournemouth responded brilliantly to going behind; Semenyo’s exquisite solo goal and clinical last-minute finish, either side of Justin Kluivert’s latest long-range strike, sealed a 3-1 win that moves the hosts up to 2nd (SECOND) in the Premier League.
Bournemouth’s fourth victory from seven Premier League games adds to their stellar start to the 2025/26 season, with the Cherries not breaking stride despite losing Milos Kerkez, Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi in the summer.
It says a lot about how well-run Bournemouth are that their replacements, particularly Bafode Diakite and Adrien Truffert, have seamlessly settled into the Premier League, thus preventing a post-summer decline, while highly respected head coach Iraola is another trump card up their sleeve.
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Iraola quickly made Bournemouth supporters forget about former boss Gary O’Neil, with the Cherries collecting the seventh-most points in the Premier League since his arrival in October 2023.
So it’s no wonder Bournemouth are desperate to tie Iraola to a new contract before his deal expires this summer, though the prospect of him remaining in charge beyond this season appears to be decreasing by the day.
Iraola finds himself in the middle of the manager sack conversation as he’s being mentioned as a potential replacement for big clubs in the Premier League and Europe, including Manchester United.
Various outlets have claimed that he is on Man Utd’s shortlist of possible replacements for under-fire boss Ruben Amorim, with Glasner and Gareth Southgate among the lesser-suited alternatives.
Given that Iraola is also being loosely linked with Chelsea and Manchester City, United would be pulling off a major coup if they secure his services, though there is recent evidence to suggest that their pulling power remains undiminished despite their on-field woes.
From beating Newcastle United to several summer signings to recently gaining the favour of Glasner, Man Utd’s lure is still overwhelming, so when it came to making a decision, it would be a surprise if Iraola said no to INEOS.
Still, if Man Utd are to appoint Iraola, they really ought to get a move on.
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Regardless of how this weekend’s match against Sunderland goes (another harrowing loss wouldn’t be a shock at all), Amorim is done at Man Utd because he won’t oversee a long-term fix amid his unrelenting insistence on playing his 3-4-3 formation, which is not suited to the club or his squad.
The sooner he and Man Utd move on, the better, though talk regarding a caretaker appointment is nonsense, as INEOS cannot be seen to write off a season after fewer than ten games.
So, a repeat of last year’s raid for Amorim is needed; only this time to appoint a proven Premier League head coach, with the potential to become elite, who adopts a front-foot playing style and formation that naturally lends itself to the United way.
In hindsight, INEOS’ appointment of Amorim was a huge mistake, but the ruthless manner in which they went about this raid should be commended as a deal was struck under the noses of Man City, who appeared to be laying the groundwork for Amorim to replace Pep Guardiola.
The same mid-season method is required for standout candidate Iraola, mainly due to his potential, suitability and the underlying risk of disappointment in the summer amid heavy competition from across Europe.
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