Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner wants the Man United job and has announced his intention to leave Selhurst Park at the end of the season.
Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner is in the running to become the next permanent head coach of Manchester United
Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner is in the running to become the next permanent head coach of Manchester United(Image: Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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After winning the FA Cup last campaign and the Community Shield at the beginning of the 2025/26 season, few would have foreseen how sour things have turned for Crystal Palace in the months since. Since that victory over Liverpool, Eberechi Eze has left, Marc Guehi is on his way out and Oliver Glasner has confirmed he is leaving at the end of the season.
It has been a bleak January for Palace and seeing Glasner leave for a Premier League rival would sum things up for them. If the Austrian was to have his way, that's exactly the scenario that would play out. It is understood the Palace boss is being considered by Ineos for Manchester United's permanent managerial position.
Despite him playing a 3-4-2-1 system at Palace, which ultimately cost Ruben Amorim his job, Jason Wilcox, Omar Berrada and the rest of the United decision-makers are not looking to hold that against him. Plus, for a club looking to find ways of saving cash, appointing an out-of-work manager makes sense.
It is almost as if the stars are aligning for Glasner and United, but it is never that straightforward - especially when the Austrian behaves as he does in the press. After his side's 2-1 defeat to Sunderland, Glasner went on the offensive and issued a blistering post-match interview.
"We feel like we're being abandoned completely," Glasner said when reflecting on Guehi's impending exit to Manchester City. "Selling our captain one day before a game - there is no understanding for this.
"We are preparing and then yesterday [Friday], I get told that our captain will be sold, but why not next week? At least he can play this game and then next week, other players are coming back. It makes me really upset.
"If your heart gets ripped out twice a year, with Eze one day before a game in the summer and your captain one day before a game - I've just got no understanding. I've been in football for 30 years and never experienced this, not once."
Palace chairman Steve Parish was reportedly left seething by Glasner's outburst and his position was being considered on Sunday before ultimately the Eagles decided they wanted to stick with their head coach for the remainder of the season. If Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co were watching all this unfold, they would have been seeing red flags galore.
Even if Ineos feel Glasner has been hard done by at Palace, they would be concerned by the outbursts they have seen from him. When Amorim went against the board after the Leeds draw, he was gone before lunchtime the next day.
Arguably, Amorim's comments were not as fiery as Glasner's, and yet they still cost him. Should United hire Glasner, they cannot rely on him to stay quiet and keep his feelings out of the media.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe was in the crowd at Old Trafford on Saturday for Manchester United's 2-0 win over Manchester City
Sir Jim Ratcliffe was in the crowd at Old Trafford on Saturday for Manchester United's 2-0 win over Manchester City(Image: )
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The 51-year-old has a history of making tough comments. This is not a one-off for him, just ask the fans of Wolfsburg. He clashed with their sporting director before leaving for Eintracht Frankfurt.
Amorim gained a lot of respect from United fans for wearing his heart on his sleeve. He was honest, sometimes to a fault, about his feelings on players and the hierarchy.
As such, the supporters warmed to him even when the results were not good enough. Glasner would likely have similar backing from the fans.
But this is exactly what Ineos would hate and Glasner might be talking his way out of the running for the United job with each interview he attends.
Ratcliffe supposedly welcomes a back-and-forth relationship with his manager - he doesn't want to be surrounded by 'yes men'. But he also expects it to be kept in-house and that's what cost Amorim.
Moving for Glasner at the end of the season would be a gamble for Ineos. It is up to Ineos to decide if the gamble is worth it.