Crystal Palace Pursue Iraola as Glasner Successor
Crystal Palace have turned decisively towards Andoni Iraola as they search for a successor to Oliver Glasner in what is shaping into one of the most pivotal appointments of their modern era.
Glasner, the architect of Palace’s first ever European final, will walk away from Selhurst Park at the end of the month. He made his intentions clear back in January, and the club has been working at pace behind the scenes ever since, determined that the momentum of this season does not evaporate with his departure.
Now Iraola sits at the top of their list.
Iraola the preferred choice
Multiple sources indicate the Bournemouth manager, who confirmed last month he will leave the south coast club this summer, has emerged as Palace’s preferred option. The hierarchy see him as a coach capable of sustaining, and sharpening, the aggressive, front-foot football that has pushed the Eagles onto the European stage.
He knows the Premier League, he has just enhanced his reputation in it, and crucially, he has not closed the door.
Iraola is understood to be fully aware of Palace’s interest. Early conversations have taken place and, according to those close to the process, he is not ruling out taking charge in south London next season. Having already chosen to leave Bournemouth, he is open to staying in England’s top flight. Palace sense an opening and have started to move with intent.
A crowded market for a rising coach
The chase for Iraola is not being run in isolation. His work has attracted admirers across Europe.
BBC Sport first reported Palace’s interest back in January. At that point, Iraola was also linked with Athletic Bilbao, a club steeped in his playing history, only for the Basque side to turn instead to German coach Edin Terzic this week. One door closed; others remain ajar.
Newcastle would have tempted him. Yet with Eddie Howe expected to remain at St James’ Park barring an unexpected twist, that route appears blocked. Chelsea also loom in the background as they look to replace Liam Rosenior, sacked last month, and Stamford Bridge will always carry its own gravitational pull for ambitious managers.
Palace, though, can offer something different: a clear project, a Premier League platform, and European football within touching distance.
Palace cast the net wide
The club has not put all its hopes on one man. Far from it.
Alongside Iraola, Palace have explored a broad and ambitious field. Coventry City manager Frank Lampard, Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna, former Tottenham boss Thomas Frank, ex-Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche, Fulham’s Marco Silva and Lens coach Pierre Sage have all featured in their discussions.
It is an eclectic mix: young tacticians with modern ideas, seasoned Premier League survivors, and continental operators used to working in demanding environments. The message is clear. Palace intend to land an accomplished head coach, whether or not Iraola ultimately says yes.
Inside Selhurst Park, there is an acceptance that the situation is fluid. Targets have options, and the managerial carousel is only just beginning to spin. Even so, there is confidence that the club’s current trajectory, financial stability and squad profile give them real pulling power.
Time pressure and the transfer window
One factor drives the urgency: the transfer window.
Palace are acutely aware they cannot drift into pre-season without a manager. They want their next head coach in place as soon as possible, ideally in time to shape recruitment, approve targets and help decide the futures of key players. The club’s summer business will be built around the new man’s ideas, not retrofitted after the fact.
That is why discussions with Iraola have already begun to move from exploratory to concrete. The longer he remains on the market, the more the competition will stiffen. Palace know it.
Europa carrot for Palace and Iraola
What they also know is that they now possess a powerful bargaining chip.
Palace will face Spanish side Rayo Vallecano in the Europa Conference League final on 27 May. Win that, and the club will step into next season’s Europa League, a stage that changes both revenue and reputation.
For a coach like Iraola, who built his name in Spain and thrives on high-intensity football, the prospect of leading a Premier League side into the Europa League is no small attraction. It offers glamour, tactical challenges against varied opposition, and a chance to test his methods under European floodlights.
For Palace, it offers something even more valuable: proof that this is no longer a club content simply to survive. They are in a final. They are on the brink of another European campaign. And they are hunting a manager to match that ambition.
Whether Iraola becomes that man will be decided in the coming weeks. What is already clear is that whoever walks into Selhurst Park next will inherit a club standing at the threshold of a very different future.
