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Crystal Palace have moved quickly to secure their new head coach, agreeing a three year deal with a manager who, just weeks ago, was openly discussing his dream of one day taking charge at Liverpool.
The appointment brings an end to a managerial search that began following Oliver Glasner’s departure from Selhurst Park.
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Palace had initially hoped to land Andoni Iraola as his replacement, but the Spaniard instead moved to Liverpool following Arne Slot’s surprise sacking, leaving Palace to pivot toward their alternative option.
According to The Athletic, Pierre Sage is now the man at Cystal Palace, the 47 year old who departs RC Lens after a single, remarkable season in charge.
Sage’s name had actually been doing the rounds at Anfield too.
Liverpool had sent representatives to hold talks with him as far back as January, and journalist Ben Jacobs reported that Sage remained one of a handful of names “appreciated” by Liverpool’s hierarchy even as Iraola emerged as the clear favourite.
Sage himself had not been shy about where his ambitions lay, telling Téléfoot in an interview that Liverpool would be his dream job, calling England the best country and praising the Premier League.
With that move never materialising, Palace stepped in, agreeing a compensation package worth roughly 5 million euros to prise him away from Lens, where he still had time left on his contract and Champions League football to look forward to.
He officially starts work on July 6, ahead of the bulk of the squad’s pre season return on July 10, and brings his trusted Lens assistant Jamal Alioui with him, while existing Palace coaches Paddy McCarthy and Andy Quy will remain part of the setup.
Sage’s path to this point has been anything but conventional.
He spent his entire playing career in French amateur football before building a coaching career from the ground up, working as a sports coordinator, scout, technical director, and youth coach over two decades.
His big break came at Lyon, where he was appointed academy director in 2023 before being thrust into the interim manager role that November following Fabio Grosso’s sacking.
He dragged Lyon from the relegation zone to a European spot and a Coupe de France final, posting a 58.9 percent win rate across 56 matches, the third best of any Lyon manager this century.
Despite that, owner John Textor dismissed him in January 2025 after a mid season dip.
Lens snapped him up months later, and the gamble paid off spectacularly.
Sage guided them to second place in Ligue 1, just six points behind PSG, while also winning the Coupe de France with a 3 1 win over Nice, the club’s first ever triumph in that competition.
The season earned him the Ligue 1 Coach of the Year award, with an overall managerial record of 61 wins from 96 matches, a win percentage of 63.5 percent.
Now he inherits a Crystal Palace side coming off three trophies in twelve months, including a UEFA Europa Conference League title, and the immediate challenge of holding onto key assets like Adam Wharton while pushing for a top six finish.