TalkSport host Adrian Durham thinks that Crystal Palace need to be looking for a much bigger name when it comes to their search for a new manager.
The future of current boss Roy Hodgson is somewhat up in the air at the moment, whilst he has previously said that he is ‘undecided’ over whether or not he will stay beyond his current deal at Selhurst Park, the fact that the club are in the process of looking for a new manager would indicate that his time at the club is almost up.
Sean Dyche and Eddie Howe are just two of the names that have been linked with the job, although reports claim that it is looking more and more likely to be the former that takes up the role.
But speaking on TalkSport (2:57), Durham feels that in order to keep a big-name player like Wilfried Zaha, they need to bring in a higher class of manager, before name dropping former Chelsea manager and Premier League winner Antonio Conte as a possible option:
“This is the bit I don’t get. Now when they did try something a bit different and they brought in [Frank] De Boer as manager, it really didn’t work out. If you’re going to try something different, it’s got to be the right manager.
“And I always think that if they wanted to keep Zaha, have any chance keeping Zaha they need to get a stellar manager, so trying to attract a Conte, who’s about to win the title with Inter, somebody like that.”
TIF Thoughts on Adrian Durham’s comments about Crystal Palace and Antonio Conte
Durham is right here when it comes to his assessment of Palace, who have been stuck in something of a rut when it comes to their place in the Premier League, as has Dyche in many ways since he brought Burnley up.
And if they want to turn into a big club in order to keep Zaha from leaving, then appointing a big-name manager to take them that next step might not be the worst way to make it happen.
And whilst it might sound like a big task to bring someone from Inter to Crystal Palace, it certainly isn’t impossible to make it happen. After all Leeds United managed to appoint Marcelo Bielsa who has a track record of managing big clubs whilst they were in the Championship, so let’s not rule it out just yet.
In other news: TalkSport pundit drops big claim on Zaha’s future at Crystal Palace