Crystal Palace have stormed into the race to hire Dino Toppmoller in place of Oliver Glasner this summer, with a move for Andoni Iraola falling into doubt.
Crystal Palace storm into Toppmoller race
The Eagles will be forced to start fresh this summer, when Glasner heads for the exit door at the end of his current deal. The Austrian will leave as the most successful manager in the club's history and could yet enjoy a fitting farewell courtesy of the Europa Conference League.
oliver-glasner Related
8-pass Crystal Palace star must be nowhere near the XI after Fiorentina
Crystal Palace are one step closer to history after knocking Fiorentina out of the Europa Conference League to reach the last four.
Crystal Palace didn't do it the easy way, but they are in the final four of the competition after defeating Fiorentina 4-2 on aggregate. They're now set to square off against Shakhtar Donetsk with a place in the final up for grabs.
Those in South London would love to focus on the success that they are witnessing on the pitch, but the reality is that they've got the impossible job of replacing that success with their next manager this summer.
On that front, a new candidate has just emerged. According to Sacha Tavolieri, Crystal Palace have joined the race to hire Toppmoller, who has been a free agent since leaving Eintracht Frankfurt and now wants a Premier League move.
Of course, it wasn't so long ago that Glasner was arriving as an ex-Frankfurt manager and it's fair to say that pathway worked out on that occasion. Now, years later, Palace want to hire the man that actually replaced the Austrian at the German club back in 2023.
Toppmoller would be ideal Iraola alternative
In an ideal world, Crystal Palace would hire Iraola fresh from his Bournemouth tenure this summer. In their current reality, however, they're likely to miss out on the Spaniard as the race between top clubs ignites for his signature.
dino-toppmoller
That takes the Eagles back to the drawing board and potentially towards Toppmoller. The German, who prefers to use a 4-2-3-1 system, replaced Glasner once before and could do so again with similar success.
Frankfurt record Glasner Toppmoller
Games 97 121
Wins 39 51
Draws 29 34
Defeats 29 36
Points Per Game 1.51 1.55
Toppmoller is still a coach with plenty of potential even after his Frankfurt spell ended earlier this year. It speaks volumes that he enjoyed a better points per game record at the German club than Glasner, albeit without winning the Europa League like his predecessor.
If Iraola is out of reach, then Palace should take the same path which last led to FA Cup success and European football.