Former Borussia Dortmund manager Lucien Favre is keen on a move to the Premier League with Crystal Palace looking to open talks with the veteran tactician, as reported by the Sun.
At the age of 63, the softly-spoken Favre may not be the charismatic, straight-talking tactician that many at Selhurst Park were hoping for.
But, with Paulo Fonseca heading to Tottenham and Nuno Espirito Santo proving to be far more trouble than he’s worth, a paucity of other options has led Crystal Palace to consider a man who has been out of work since being sacked by Borussia Dortmund following December’s 5-1 home defeat to Stuttgart.
The Sun claims that Palace are hoping to begin negotiations with Favre, having seemingly gone cold on Championship bosses Valerien Ismael and Steve Cooper.
What is more, Favre is interested in a move to the Premier League, having spent his storied managerial career on the continent.
Will Lucien Favre replace Roy Hodgson at Crystal Palace?
If Crystal Palace supporters were hoping for a thrilling, high-octane style of football after four years of steady stability under Roy Hodgson, they may be disappointed.
Try as he might, Favre never really won over the Dortmund masses, his patient, death-by-a-thousand passes approach at odds with the ‘heavy metal football’ that came to define a glorious era under the wild-eyed Jurgen Klopp at the Signal Iduna Park.
What Favre does guarantee, however, is results, and a penchant for building a team greater than the sum of its parts.
He led Dortmund to second place in 2018/19; a points tally of 76 the second-best result in the club’s entire history.
Favre’s Nice side also flirted with domestic success over in France, with Favre managing to do what Roberto Mancini, Jose Mourinho, Brendan Rodgers and co could not.
“He made me much better, especially tactically. Before, I worked on instinct,” a certain Mario Balotelli said of Favre, having scored a 43 goals in just two seasons on the banks of the Riviera.
“I discovered a great coach. He is very good tactically, but also in the way he manages the locker room.”
Did we mention that Favre also guided an unfancied Hertha Berlin side to fourth in the Bundesliga, before transforming Borussia Monchengladbach from relegation candidates to Champions League challengers?
Calm and composed, Favre is not the sort of character who lets his mouth run away with him. It is his CV that does the talking.
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