Crystal Palace have opened talks with Oliver Glasner over extending his contract in an attempt to ward off potential interest from RB Leipzig.
The Austrian celebrated his first anniversary as manager last month and Palace are 11th in the Premier League after Saturday’s win over Ipswich, having recovered from a poor start. They have also reached the last eight of both domestic cup competitions. Palace lost to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup and face Fulham in the FA Cup quarter-finals at the end of this month.
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It is understood Glasner’s success at Palace has attracted interest from the Bundesliga, where he has managed Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt. Leipzig are expected to part company with Marco Rose at the end of the season after a disappointing campaign, and the former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp – Red Bull’s head of global soccer – is believed to be an admirer of the 50-year-old, who led Frankfurt to Europa League success in 2022.
Leipzig’s interest has led Palace to initiate negotiations to extend Glasner’s contract, which expires next season. There is a 12-month extension option but the co-chair Steve Parish is understood to be keen to tie him down for another two years by offering improved terms and assurances over the intention to invest in the squad.
Work is finally due to begin on the £150m main stand in the coming weeks and Glasner, who was courted by Bayern Munich after Palace rounded off last season by winning six of their last seven matches, will demand reinforcements to maintain progress up the table.
The captain, Marc Guéhi, is expected to be sold in the summer as he enters the final year of his contract, Palace having rejected a bid worth up to £70m for the England defender from Tottenham late in the winter transfer window. There is also likely to be interest in the French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta and Adam Wharton, who has been in impressive form since returning from a groin injury, but Palace are unlikely to consider selling either should Guéhi depart.
Mateta has been training on his own at Palace’s camp in Marbella this week as he recovers from the dangerous tackle by Millwall’s goalkeeper Liam Roberts in the FA Cup that left him needing 25 stitches around his left ear. It is hoped he will return against Fulham on 29 March.
