A huge claim has been made about Crystal Palace and Marcelo Bielsa as the south Londoners continue their hunt to replace Patrick Vieira.
What’s the story?
Well, the Eagles decided to sack the Frenchman on Friday morning, after a run of 12 games without a win left them just three points above the relegation zone.
Now – according to The Athletic – Bielsa may be interested in replacing Vieira. He was, at least.
Matt Woosnam of The Athletic claims that the Argentine’s representatives made contact with Crystal Palace back in January when also holding talks with Everton.
Bielsa’s representatives wanted to gauge the possibility of the South American taking over at Selhurst Park if Vieira was to receive his P45 anytime soon.
The Athletic add that nothing materialised at the time, but given the fact Bielsa never joined Everton, and there is now a vacancy at Crystal Palace, it could be assumed that El Loco is eyeing up the role.
Bielsa, who boasts God-like status amongst Leeds fans, has been unemployed since those at Elland Road sacked him back in February 2022, with Jesse Marsch arriving as his replacement.
The 67-year-old guided Leeds back into the Premier League as champions of the Championship, before steering them to ninth in his first, and only, full top-flight season in charge of them.
Bielsa won 23 of his 64 Premier League outings, drawing 13 and losing 28 – his Leeds side impressively scored 91 goals, but also conceded 114 in that timeframe.
Crystal Palace need Marcelo Bielsa
In our view, Bielsa is just what Crystal Palace need – not Roy Hodgson, who is said to be a strong candidate to return as Vieira’s replacement.
The issue at Selhurst Park is scoring goals, not keeping them out.
Crystal Palace have only conceded nine goals in their last ten games, which included two clashes against Manchester United, and encounters with Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Newcastle as well as Brighton.
However, the south Londoners have not scored in four consecutive outings now, and recently became the first team on record to go three Premier League games without having a shot on target – according to Opta.
Bielsa’s sides are often highly entertaining and attack minded, so with talent such as Odsonne Edouard, Wilfried Zaha, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise, he could be the man to get Crystal Palace firing.
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