Crystal Palace: 37-year-old would be ideal Hodgson replacement at Selhurst Park

Crystal Palace: 37-year-old would be ideal Hodgson replacement at Selhurst Park

Crystal Palace may need to find a replacement for Roy Hodgson soon, as the veteran manager is unlikely to continue for much longer.

Having Hodgson as manager means other clubs are unlikely to poach him, considering his age and the fact that he won’t be in the game for much longer.

Palace needs to improve their goal-scoring ability, as they have only scored seven goals this season, the lowest among the top half of the Premier League.

Crystal Palace could be forced to hunt for a Roy Hodgson replacement in the near future, and presenter HLTCO has given his positive verdict on one candidate, but he has also shared a major concern with GIVEMESPORT.

Many Palace fans would want to see Hodgson stick around for the long term, but it’s unlikely to happen.

Manager news – Latest

Hodgson rejoined the club last season in a bid to guide the Eagles away from trouble. The veteran manager did just that and has brought some stability back to Selhurst Park, before signing an extension on his contract in the summer. Per The Guardian, Hodgson agreed to stay at the club for another year back in July, despite being fairly cautious about continuing in management after the campaign ended in May.

Speaking on his future at Palace earlier in the year, Hodgson was reluctant to confirm that he would be looking to stay in the hot seat for the 2023/2024 campaign, but he, of course, eventually signed on the dotted line…

“I’m not prepared to talk about that at all. What happens after the season will happen. At the moment, I shall enjoy this last month and I’ll make no comments whatsoever. It’s kind of you to ask the question but I prefer to say nothing. Otherwise, I’ll come to James Tomkins’ amusing comment of: ‘What are you looking for? Another gold watch?’ – which I’m not!”

Hodgson had initially retired from management before agreeing to rejoin the capital club, so it’s no secret that he’s not going to be involved in the game for too much longer. Steve Parish and the Palace board convinced him to give it another shot, but it’s difficult to see him continuing once the season has finished, considering he turned 76 in August.

HLTCO manager verdict – latest

HLTCO has suggested that the beauty of having Hodgson as their manager is no club is likely to come in and try to poach him, due to the fact that he’s unlikely to be in the game for much longer. The presenter adds that if a manager like Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna comes in, who has been linked with replacing Hodgson in the future, then he could treat the club as a stepping stone for bigger things. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, HLTCO said…

“It’s difficult for Palace because in Roy Hodgson, you have a manager who is very much in the autumn of his career. But that in itself sort of works in our favour, because even when he does pull off results or runs of results that are positive, you’re never going to get clubs looking at him as a potential candidate to take over at their place. Whereas if someone like Kieran McKenna were to come to Crystal Palace from Ipswich, it would undeniably be viewed as a potential stepping stone for him and it’s something we’ve been burned with in the past. Of course, it’s part and parcel of the game and you have to plan for the future, but for a number of different reasons, I can just see obstacles in the way of that working as a managerial appointment, even though I would love to see Kieran McKenna come to Crystal Palace at the end of this campaign.”

£15m star the next to arrive at Selhurst Park?

Palace were actively looking to bring in a striker during the summer transfer window, with journalist Dean Jones telling GIVEMESPORT that the Eagles did have an interest in signing Southampton’s Che Adams. Odsonne Edouard and Jean-Philippe Mateta have enjoyed an impressive start to the campaign, but Hodgson and his recruitment team could be looking to add another body in attack, especially when you consider their lack of goals this season.

Premier League Stats

Odsonne Edouard

Jean-Philippe Mateta

Che Adams

Starts
Adams, who was close to joining Everton for £15m, certainly isn’t the most prolific player to have played in England’s top flight, but signing a striker is always a difficult task, with many clubs around Europe all shopping within a similar pool of talent.

What’s next for the Eagles?
Hodgson needs to find a way for his side to score more goals, considering they’ve found the back of the net just seven times this term – the lowest in the top half of the Premier League. However, as mentioned, the Eagles are in a reasonable position in the table, but they now face league leaders Tottenham Hotspur after the international break.

With Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise out injured, Hodgson’s side have struggled to create and score goals.

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