Crystal Palace are considering an ambitious move to appoint a trophy-winning manager to replace the departing Oliver Glasner, according to a new report.
Palace’s search for Glasner’s successor has taken more twists and turns than almost any other managerial hunt in the Premier League this season.
Some reports claimed that Thomas Frank was the frontrunner after Tottenham sacked him, while Gareth Southgate, a man who played 129 times for the club, was apparently considered too.
Even Sean Dyche’s name surfaced at one point, with Robbie Keane, the Ferencvaros boss impressing in Hungary and Europe, also shortlisted and briefly became one of the favourites.
Roger Schmidt, the former PSV and Benfica coach, was another in the frame.
Crystal Palace have struck gold on Eagles star who’s worth more than Sarr
Crystal Palace have set high standards in regard to their first-team recruitment in recent years.
Now, according to The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath, a very reliable source, Palace have thrown perhaps the most eye-catching name of all into the mix.
Crystal Palace eye ‘shock move’ for Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola
Indeed, Palace are considering a ‘shock move’ for Andoni Iraola.
The Bournemouth head coach is out of contract this summer and his plans beyond June remain entirely unclear, but the Eagles have moved to register their interest — and, according to multiple other reports, initial contact has already taken place.
It would be a major coup for Steve Parish if he could pull it off.
Iraola, 43, has spent the last three years quietly building one of the most impressive managerial reputations in the Premier League.
He inherited a lowly Bournemouth side and steadily lifted them to 12th and then 9th, and this season has them as outside contenders for European qualification.
His high-energy, vertically direct brand of football has drawn universal praise. Jamie Redknapp described him as “elite” earlier this season, adding that in his view the Spaniard should be a contender for the Man United job too.
The complication, as ever, is the competition for his signature.
Athletic Bilbao have reportedly identified Iraola as a top target to replace the outgoing Ernesto Valverde, and the pull of returning to the club where he made more than 500 appearances as a player is an emotional draw that money alone cannot match.
Bournemouth, for their part, have been expected to reopen contract negotiations.
And Tottenham — still searching for a permanent solution of their own beyond Igor Tudor — have had Iraola discussed internally too.
Palace, then, face a crowded and complicated race for his signature.
Under Glasner, the club won the FA Cup last season and the Community Shield this term. They are currently in the Conference League quarter-finals, where they’ll face Fiorentina after the international break, and victory in that competition would earn a Europa League berth.
That kind of platform could genuinely help persuade a manager of Iraola’s calibre to choose south London over Bilbao or a more glamorous Premier League posting.
Iraola’s only piece of silverware as a manager came at AEK Larnaca, where he clinched the Cypriot Super Cup, and he’ll be desperate to add more trophies to his limited collection.
Palace need to convince him that Selhurst Park is the right platform to do so.
He was saved by Sarr: Glasner must drop 16-pass Crystal Palace star
Crystal Palace edged AEK Larnaca to advance to the quarter-finals of the Conference League.
