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“I heard”: Journalist makes “behind the scenes” manager claim about Crystal Palace

Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
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Crystal Palace manager news has been a trending topic amongst supporters as Steve Parish aims to find a long-term Patrick Vieira replacement.

Names such as Arne Slot, Paulo Fonseca and Michael Carrick have been mentioned as potential appointments once Roy Hodgson’s second stint at Selhurst Park ends this summer.

While Parish looks for a suitable option, an interesting claim has been made about Crystal Palace.

What’s the story?

Well – according to Dean Jones – Wilfried Zaha was a driving force behind Vieira‘s dismissal.

It is said that the Crystal Palace No.11 was anxious about seeing his beloved Eagles relegated in the final year of his contract, and informed those in the boardroom at Selhurst Park about how bad the situation had become.

Jones told Give Me Sport: “Zaha is very driven at this moment in his career, so much so that I heard he was one of the driving forces behind Palace recently changing manager.

“Behind the scenes, players were very concerned at how bad the situation had become and had lost faith in some coaches. I was told that Zaha acted as the guy that made sure the board knew how bad things had gotten.

“It was nothing against Vieira. It was just a genuine fear that Palace would get relegated. Zaha has been looking at this as his last season at the club, and he could not face such a situation unravelling.”

Crystal Palace v Newcastle United - Premier League
Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images

The Ivory Coast international seemed to enjoy himself under the Frenchman, scoring 15 goals in all competitions last season to mark the best goalscoring campaign of his career.

So far this term, Zaha has scored six goals in 25 appearances.

Crystal Palace Manager News

By the sounds of it, Crystal Palace have made the aforementioned Slot their No.1 target.

The Mirror believe Parish has made contact with the Dutchman, and the south Londoners are leading the race for his signature ahead of Tottenham.

Slot has won plenty of admirers across Europe after guiding his Feyenoord side eight points clear of Ajax at the top of the Eredivisie.

Crystal Palace fans will undoubtedly have flashbacks of Frank de Boer’s failed stint in SE25.

Nevertheless, Parish seems to like Slot, so make sure to keep an eye on the situation.