Crystal Palace Line Up Burnley Boss Sean Dyche as Successor to Roy Hodgson at Selhurst Park
By Max Cooper
Crystal Palace are laying the groundwork for life after Roy Hodgson, and the Eagles have identified Burnley boss Sean Dyche as their ideal next manager.
Hodgson, the oldest coach in the Premier League, recently signed a new one-year deal to keep him at Selhurst Park until 2021, but Palace are now lining up the 72-year-old's replacement for the following season.
And according to The Mirror, the Eagles have landed on Burnley boss Dyche as Hodgson's successor, having gained many admirers over the years for his ability to coach effectively on a shoestring budget.
Dyche has been in charge at Turf Moor since 2012, and having guided the Clarets to promotion to the Premier League on two occasions, he has now established them as part of the top-flight furniture.
Dyche is known for his pragmatic and organised style of play, and it has worked wonders in recent years, even helping Burnley achieve European qualification for the 2018/19 season.
And Dyche's skillset is similar to that of Hodgson, who in 2017, took over a Palace team which had lost its opening four league matches without scoring a goal, and still managed to comfortably secure survival without spending big sums of cash.
So, a Dyche and Crystal Palace partnership could be a match made in heaven, then. And unfortunately for Burnley supporters, their current boss has done little to stifle rumours that he is willing to venture away from Turf Moor.
The 48-year-old recently admitted on the Eamonn and Gaffers Podcast that he would consider taking over another club, if they could push him to 'continue improving and continue testing myself' at the highest level.
“I think the honest answer is that we've done a lot of work at Burnley. It’s how far you can keep the journey going, where it can it go. So there's a reality to that.
“If the opportunity to come to somewhere that I thought would really enhance my chances as a manager to continue improving and continue testing myself, who knows?"
Watch this space.