Crystal Palace can start making detailed plans as Nuno on the brink of taking charge in SE25
Nuno Espirito Santo is reportedly on the verge of joining Crystal Palace, just three weeks after the Portuguese manager left Wolves by mutual consent.
The South Londoners have been on the lookout for a new manager since Roy Hodgson stepped down from his role at the end of the Premier League season, and The Telegraph’s John Percy claimed today that the Eagles are on the verge of appointing Nuno.
The Portuguese manager made a name for himself at Rio Ave, where, in his second season in charge, he took the Primeira Liga side to both domestic cup finals and to the Europa League for the first time in their history.
The 47-year-old then had spells at Valencia and Porto before joining Wolves in 2017. Nuno led them to the Championship title, a Europa League quarter-final and back-to-back seventh placed finishes in the top-flight.
WHY DID HE LEAVE WOLVES?
While Nuno’s departure from the side that finished one point ahead of Palace last season came out of the blue, it was a difficult season for Wolves. Their dip in form was largely down to the absence of Raul Jimenez – the club’s top goalscorer for two seasons running – who missed over half of the campaign due to a fractured skull.
It has been put to Nuno that he was dismissed from his managerial role rather than by the mutual agreement which the club announced, to which he responded: “There was never one decision we did not make together. There was always dialogue, always respect.”
WHAT HAVE PALACE SAID?
The club’s hierarchy have known for some time that Hodgson would be stepping down at the end of the season, as the 73-year-old revealed following the announcement: “I did let the chairman Steve Parish and Doug Freedman know a good while ago because I thought that was the fairest thing to do.”
And Parish was recently quoted during an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live saying: “I think you need to get it right more than right now. The most important thing is we get the right person for the job. As soon as we find them and it’s settled, we’ll do it.”
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR PALACE?
Well, with the club set to embark on their ninth conservative season in the Premier League, Palace’s summer transfer window can finally start to take shape. There are still the futures of 11 out of contract players to resolve.
While Patrick van Aanholt, Mamadou Sakho and Connor Wickham are set to leave the club, the Eagles announced last week that Christian Benteke, who scored 10 goals last season, has signed a new two-year deal.
Robbie Earle of the “Two Robbies” who comment on NBCSN was asked by Robbie Briscoe why the big turnaround for Benteke. He said that it was contract time. So, what happens now that the enigmatic Christian has his two year extension. He was being paid 120k per week to speed his Bentley on the London highways.—Without a doubt, CP should have offered him an extension filled with incentives. I doubt that he did and Benteke is grinning all the way to the bank to buy an up to date Bentley. Actually, he needed a psychiatrist more than he needed a new contract.