After a tense deadline-day stand-off between himself and chairman Steve Parish, Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has reportedly been handed an exit route out of the South London club.
Why Crystal Palace blocked Guehi's move
Marc Guehi said his goodbyes, recorded a farewell video and even completed a medical at Liverpool but when the deadline arrived, he remained a Crystal Palace player. It was the biggest twist that took place late on as the Reds missed out on their first top target of the summer and the Eagles, out of nowhere, pulled the plug on their captain’s move.
In a civil war between Glasner and Parish, it was the Crystal Palace manager that came out on top. The Austrian was desperate to keep hold of Guehi. It didn’t make sense – he believed – to sell not only Eberechi Eze, but Guehi too just months after winning the FA Cup and qualifying for the Europa Conference League.
There were even talks that Glasner threatened to walk away from his role if Crystal Palace allowed Guehi to complete a move away on deadline day and Parish wasn’t waiting around to find out if his manager was bluffing. As soon as Igor Julio chose West Ham United over Selhurst Park, Guehi’s move was brought to a crashing halt.
It was a tense summer since the very start of the window for Palace for several reasons and deadline day very nearly saw those tensions reach boiling point.
For now, Glasner remains in charge and Guehi remains the club captain, but there will be question marks over whether the damage is already done for the manager.
Bayer Leverkusen want Glasner
As reported by The Sun, Bayer Leverkusen now want to hire Glasner to replace Erik ten Hag, who has been sacked by the German club after just three games in charge. The Crystal Palace manager has just one year left on his current deal, but could leave before he has the chance to walk away for free if Leverkusen officially come calling.
The Austrian has plenty of experience in the Bundesliga and there’s no doubt that he would be an excellent appointment for Leverkusen. It would also be an almighty blow for Palace, of course, who just about managed to satisfy Glasner’s demands by keeping Guehi at the death.
Games
136
Wins
56
Draws
43
Losses
40
Having taken charge of Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt in previous years – even winning the Europa League with the latter – Leverkusen would make perfect sense for Glasner.
It would, however, take Palace back to square one and life before Glasner didn’t feature a single trophy and certainly didn’t feature European football. He should be deemed irreplaceable at Selhurst Park, but it is a task that Parish will still have to complete when his contract comes to an end next summer.