Crystal Palace progressing in talks with new manager as Sage interviews for Lens return

Crystal Palace are progressing in talks with a manager who Mikel Arteta rates very highly as Pierre Sage interviews for a return to Lens.

Pierre Sage’s home record leaves Palace looking for way out

REUTERS/Peter Cziborra

Palace’s home games were supposed to give Sage something to build on, but they’ve done the opposite.

Four of his five league matches at Selhurst Park have ended in defeat, the latest a 3-1 loss to Liverpool that sent the Eagles bottom with seven points from 10 games.

Since beating Nottingham Forest on October 11, Palace have lost four league matches in a row, scoring once and conceding 12. They’ve had better nights in the cups, but Sage needed a run of league results to make the case for more time, and it never came.

Sky Sports have linked Sean Dyche and Vítor Pereira, who both know what it’s like to take over a Premier League club midway through a season. Toulouse boss Jens Berthel Askou and former RB Leipzig coach Ole Werner have also been considered, giving Palace a choice between some very different approaches.

Eddie Howe has already turned down an approach, according to The Sun, and Thomas Frank remains the favourite.

Palace spoke to him in the summer before settling on Sage, so they’ve had one chance to size each other up already.

Now, there’s rather more urgency to the conversation.

Crystal Palace make headway in talks with Thomas Frank

The Guardian’s Ed Aarons says Palace are “making progress in negotiations” with Frank as they work through Sage’s exit.

In his update on Wednesday evening, Aarons reported that Sage has held talks about going back to Lens, while Palace have yet to make his departure official.

Back in June, Palace paid more than £4m to get Sage out of Lens and gave him a contract for three years.

Aarons reported earlier this week that the club were still working out the cost of ending it, which could be lower if the French side bring him back.

Lens have been looking for a manager since sacking Yannick Cahuzac on Tuesday, less than a week after Como hit them for nine in the Champions League.

In Sage, they are talking to the coach who took them into the competition in the first place and won their first French Cup last season.

For Palace, there’s a deadline of sorts on the horizon, as they go to Coventry on 21 November, and any new boss would want time on the training pitch before then. Frank is closer to the job than anyone else on the list, but there’s still a deal to finish.

What Frank could fix at Palace and where the risk lies

Reuters/Peter Cziborra

Frank’s Brentford found 66 league goals in his final season after selling Ivan Toney, with Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa getting 39 between them.

That’s an argument for trusting him to work with what Palace have, especially if he can make Jean-Philippe Mateta the target for an early pass and get runners moving off him.

He can switch between three and four at the back, too, so Palace could keep using wing backs without committing to one setup every week.

Brentford’s work on set pieces is another plus, as they gave up just two league goals from them in 24/25, and Arsenal boss Arteta is on record hailing the Dane as an ‘excellent coach’ and ‘extraordinary’ human being.

At Spurs, though, Frank won only twice in 13 home league games, and goals from corners masked how little they created in open play.

Missing James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski made life harder, but he never found a reliable way to create chances without them.

That’s the test at Selhurst Park, and Frank’s direct football could suit Palace on the road, where opponents are more likely to give them room to break.

At home against teams who sit back, he’ll need a way to get Adam Wharton on the ball and build chances through the middle.