Crystal Palace could now hire Ralph Hasenhuttl to replace Patrick Vieira after the Frenchman was handed his P45 at Selhurst Park.
What’s the story?
Well – according to London World – the Austrian has been mentioned as a potential option to replace Vieira at Crystal Palace.
Hasenhuttl has been unemployed since Southampton decided to sack him back in November, following a run of six defeats in nine Premier League games.
The 55-year-old won 47 of his 151 Premier League games in charge of the Saints, drawing 36 while losing 68.
Crystal Palace fans will be interested to know that Hasenhuttl’s Southampton also scored 186 goals in those 151 Premier League outings, but conceded 255.
18 of those 255 concessions came in just two games, as Southampton suffered 9-0 defeats against Leicester and Manchester United under Hasenhuttl.
Nevertheless, the Graz-born tactician forged a decent reputation for himself in England.
The Athletic believe he was even on Tottenham’s list to replace José Mourinho back in 2021.
Crystal Palace could hire Klopp 2.0 in Hasenhuttl
Interestingly, Hasenhuttl has actually earned comparisons to Jürgen Klopp for implementing a high intensity pressing ethos into his teams.
That comparison has been reiterated by the Guardian, with Hasenhuttl picking up the nickname of “Alpine Klopp” during his time in management.
While some Crystal Palace fans will be concerned by how soft Southampton were in defence under the Austrian, the attacking play under him was often quite impressive, and those in the forward line recorded strong numbers.
For example, Danny Ings scored 25 goals in all competitions under his guidance back in the 2019/20 campaign.
As the likes of Wilfried Zaha, Odsonne Edouard, Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze struggle for goals, Hasenhuttl could be exactly what the south Londoners need right now, as the defence is already fairly strong.
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