Crystal Palace are said to be keen on current Lille manager Paulo Fonseca as a replacement for interim boss Roy Hodgson next season.
Hodgson was announced as Palace’s temporary manager until the end of the season following the sacking of Patrick Vieira last Friday but Fonseca has already been identified as the man to take the permanent job in the summer.
Vieira replaced Hodgson in July 2021, but the 75-year old has been brought back by the Palace hierarchy in an attempt to improve results, with the Eagles having not won a match in all competitions since New Year’s Eve.
Hodgson will have to try and find a solution to getting some goals out of his strikers, with recognised number 9s in Odsonne Edouard and Jean-Phillipe Mateta scoring a combined four league goals this campaign.
The Guardian are reporting that Fonseca is the man that leads the Palace managerial shortlist, with his career trophy total of nine and the job he is currently doing with Lille in France where he has them 6th in Ligue 1, two big selling points for the South London club.
Any attempt to bring the Portuguese to Selhurst Park would be a bold one, with the former Roma boss highly rated across Europe, as he was also offered the Tottenham job in 2021 before the Lilywhites settled on Antonio Conte.
However, with clubs like Brighton, Fulham and Brentford pulling their weight this season, Palace will feel that they have more than enough ways to sell themselves as a viable team for Fonseca to manage.
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