We always love to see former Preston men doing well, especially when it comes to coaching – and Brian Barry-Murphy is now in line for a huge move.
Gareth Ainsworth, Michael Appleton and Graham Alexander are all in management right now and remain popular figures in the North End fanbase.
For Barry-Murphy, he became Rochdale’s caretaker manager in 2019. Just a month later, he landed the job permanently as he took his first steps into management.
As a player, the midfielder joined Preston from Cork City in 1999, mostly playing a squad role at Deepdale before moving on to Sheffield Wednesday, Bury and Rochdale.
Fans of a certain age will remember the Irishman turning out for North End under David Moyes, and will have been keeping an eye on his progress as a coach.
Last week, Rochdale confirmed that Barry-Murphy had resigned following the club’s relegation to League Two, but it doesn’t look like he will be out of work for long.
Football Insider report that Barry-Murphy is now in talks to become Manchester City’s new Under-23 manager in a shock move.
Working with Pep Guardiola would be quite the step up for Barry-Murphy, and it’s been a great platform in the past; Patrick Vieira is now Crystal Palace manager, Simon Davies is coaching at Anderlecht with Vincent Company and Enzo Maresca has just become Parma manager.
Add in Mikel Arteta is now Arsenal manager and City are giving a great platform for young coaches to cut their teeth before moving on.
Barry-Murphy already has managerial experience, but by working with City, the former Preston man could end up developing rapidly as a coach and landing an even bigger job in management.