According to the Daily Record, Crystal Palace are looking at Rafael Benitez to replace Roy Hodgson.
What a twist of fate that would be. When Benitez left Liverpool in the summer of 2010, it was Hodgson who came in as his replacement.
That didn’t go so well for Hodgson, and the pair have taken very different paths; Benitez regularly landing big jobs, Hodgson having to rebuild his reputation on a couple of ocassions.
Hodgson has confirmed that he is leaving Palace this summer, meaning the Eagles must now try to find a successor, with Benitez joining Frank Lampard and Sean Dyche on their wish list.
Benitez is without a club having left Chinese side Dalian Professional in January, but whether Palace can tempt him remains to be seen, as Benitez is usually linked with pereceivably ‘bigger’ jobs.
An interesting note in the report adds that Palace are turning to Benitez and co because they think Eddie Howe is heading to Celtic.
Palace have expressed an interest in Howe, but the Eagles believe that he will instead be heading up to Scotland to take the reins at Parkhead.
Celtic have been seeking a new boss since Neil Lennon’s resignation in February, and it’s been clear for a while now that Howe is their top target.
The Palace job officially becoming available doesn’t look like ruining Celtic’s hopes of landing Howe, and if this report is to be believed, the ex-Bournemouth man will be heading to Glasgow soon enough.
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