The Premier League has always been competitive, and highly experienced managers usually succeed. That said, there are clubs which prefer sided young talents and inexperienced managers who are even under thirty. Take a look at six of them the six youngest managers to ever lead a team in the English Premier league.
1. Ryan Mason – 29 years, 312 days
Ryan Mason was the youngest manager to have ever managed the Tottenham Hotspur Premier League team after managing them in April 2021. Taking the charge as manager on an interim basis after Mourinho, he was only 29 years and 312 days old. However, in the last six games of the season, he took Spurs through, managing to record four victories before his tenure came to end early but he made record being the youngest Premier League manager at 29. Mason was an unfortunate victim of early retirement after a spell as a Spurs midfielder, but his rise back into management has been meteoric.
2. Fabian Hurzeler – 31 years, 110 days.
Brighton a has appointed Fabian Hurzeler, the new managerial officer, which has made him the youngest permanent manager in the English Premier League’s history. In the beginning af June 2024, Hurzeler became 31 years and 110 days old when he signed for the club and he arrived with outstanding credentials after famously steering German club St. Pauli back into the Bundesliga in 2023 after a long time spent in the lower divisions. Taking over Roberto De Zerbi, Hurzeler has signed a contract renewal to expire his contract with Brighton in June 2027. Conte has been applauded for his ability to manage strategies and players and Hurzeler epitomises the new generation of managers for the Premier League.
3. Chris Coleman – 32 years, 313 days
Chris Coleman has served as the interim of Fulham after the exit of Jean Tigana in April 2003, and at the age of 33years, 313 days. Because of this success, which saw Coleman win three of his five matches to ensure Fulham remained in the Premier League, football learnt of his promotion as the youngest permanent Premier League manager. Coleman brought young managers into the league as they saw to production from him his leadership and defensive style ensured Fulham was competitive for seasons in the division.
4. Attilio Lombardo – 32 years, 67 days
Lombardo, an Italian midfielder, was made caretaker player-manager of the Palace at the age of 32 years and 67 days in 1998 after the arrival of Steve Coppell as director of football. Bottom of the palace league, Lombardo tried for only six games but he got four losses and the club was relegated. However, his appointment showed Palace ready and willing to gamble in youthful and vibrant managers and brought Lombardo to be the second Italian manager in the English Premier League after Gianluca Vialli.
5. Gianluca Vialli – 33 years, 227 days old.
After Ruud Gullit left Chelsea in 1998, they hired Gianluca Vialli as both a player and as a manager. Vialli was Chelsea manager at the age of 33 years and 227 days and during this period, he led Chelsea to League Cup and a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup title and FA Cup and UEFA Super Cup in 1998. Player-managership period saw Chelsea clinch a place in the champions league for the first time and this laid basis for the subsequent growth of the club’s European competition in subsequent decades. This success proved the fact that managers who are young can work effectively and excel in such harsh realities of the English Premier League as a setting.
6. Andre Villas Boas – 33 years, 301 days
Having long been noted for his excellent planning, Andre Villas-Boas became the Chelsea manager at the age of 33 years, 301 days before the start of the 2011/12 season. His hiring came in the backdrop of enjoying an inspiring period at Porto which he managed to take to UEFA Europa League title winning at the age of only thirty nine years. He failed to deliver the best for Chelsea and poor performance saw him sacked early this year, February to be precise. Even though it was short-lived, Villas-Boas’ appointment inaugurated a new generation of young managers on the premiership.