Lucien Favre has made a late U-turn, rejecting the Crystal Palace job at the last minute. The London outfit had offered Favre a three-year contract to replace Roy Hodgson.
Lucien Favre Makes Late U-Turn in Crystal Palace Job
Palace’s Search for a New Manager Goes on
Roy Hodgson left Crystal Palace this summer after four years in the job. The 73-year old has stepped away from football for some time. He started his managerial career in 1976, at Swedish club Halmstad. Hodgson was appointed Crystal Palace manager in 2017, replacing Frank de Boer. Under de Boer, Palace had four winless games at the start of the season.
The experienced Hodgson stabilised the ship. As a result, Palace have had four seasons of relative stability. Rarely have Palace looked like a side that might get relegated.
Roy Hodgson may not be the only member who leaves Selhurst Park this summer. Around fourteen players are out of contract.
Lucien Favre’s Rejection Comes at Last Minute
Lucien Favre had agreed to sign a three-year deal. The 63-year old was sacked by Borussia Dortmund in December 2020. He held productive talks with the Palace board. In fact, he was all set to sign on the dotted line. Crystal Palace, indeed, had applied for work permits for Favre and his two assistants. It is a complicated process, but palace had gotten the ball rolling.
Palace co-chariman Steve Parish had a meeting with Favre in Nice and they had a productive talk about his vision for the future. However, Favre has decided that he is not completely ready yet to return to management. He has had interest from a number of different clubs, including Lille, Fenerbahce and Palace’s fellow Premier League side Everton. Despite that, Favre has decided not take any of those up. He does not want to get back into the rigors of management yet.
Earlier, Nuno Espirito Santo had been on the list, but that, too, broke down. Favre’s late U-turn is likely to be a major disappointment for Crystal Palace. While the search for a manager continues, Palace also have to deal with the issue of having a number of players out of contract this month.
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