There has been a development in Crystal Palace‘s pursuit of an “incredible” manager, with talks now planned for early this week.

Palace still searching for Oliver Glasner heir

When Andoni Iraola announced his intention to leave AFC Bournemouth, the Cherries wasted little time finding a successor, agreeing a deal with Marco Rose near the end of April, but Palace are still searching for a Glasner replacement.

Steve Parish had been hoping to appoint Iraola, with the Spaniard guiding Bournemouth to Europa League qualification, but he would prefer to join Liverpool, which means the chairman has now been forced to move on to alternative targets.

Sean Dyche has emerged as a target, with the 54-year-old vastly experienced in the Premier League, having spent time with Everton, Burnley and Nottingham Forest.

However, having been sacked after less than four months in charge of the Tricky Trees, and made a name for himself as a manager well-equipped to battle relegation, Dyche wouldn’t be the most exciting of appointments.

On Sunday, Pierre Sage was also named as a target for the Eagles, who were said to be exploring a move, and there has now been a promising update on their pursuit of the RC Lens manager.

Update on Crystal Palace’s pursuit of Pierre Sage

According to a report from BBC Sport, Crystal Palace are now set to hold talks with Sage early this week, having seemingly missed out on Iraola, who is poised to hold formal discussions regarding replacing Arne Slot at Liverpool.

AFC Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola salutes their fans after his last match for the club-1

Interestingly, the 47-year-old is said to be open to a move to Selhurst Park, and talks with Palace officials are set to take place soon, but Parish doesn’t want to be rushed into making a decision.

The chairman is planning to bide his time, rather than making a swift appointment, with a number of other managers still in the frame to replace Glasner.

However, the Lens boss has the most impressive career win percentage of all the potential targets.

Crystal Palace’s manager targets

Current club

Career win %

Pierre Sage

RC Lens

64%

Frank Lampard

Coventry City

46%

Dino Toppmoller

Unemployed

54%

Thomas Frank

Unemployed

44%

Sean Dyche

Unemployed

35%

Moreover, the 47-year-old enjoyed a remarkable 2025-26 campaign with Lens, lifting the French Cup for the first time in the club’s history, while also securing a second-placed finish, just six points adrift of Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain.

Nemanja Matic also lauded the Frenchman for the job he did at Lyon, saying: “Pierre is someone you can’t have a problem with. He’s a truly honest person and an incredible human being. On a professional level, he’s an excellent coach, and I include his staff; it was every bit as good as anything I experienced in my career. They did a great job, and it was a pleasure because we had a good relationship.

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