Crystal Palace may attempt to make a significant statement of intent by enticing Gareth Southgate into the Selhurst Park hot-seat if they decide to sack Oliver Glasner after an underwhelming start to the season has seen them involved in a relegation battle, GIVEMESPORT sources have revealed.

A 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Monday, courtesy of Chris Wood’s long-range effort at the City Ground, resulted in the Eagles equalling their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign and it has led to chairman Steve Parish seriously considering whether to make an alteration in the dugout.

Palace’s struggles have come after losing key men Joachim Andersen and Michael Olise during the summer transfer window, with the latter completing a £50million switch to Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich, and Austrian tactician Glasner is desperately seeking an upturn in results as he aims to save his job.

Eagles May Pursue Southgate if Glasner Axed

Palace could try to persuade Southgate to make a return to management if they part ways with Glasner, according to GMS sources, despite there being an awareness that he is not planning to embark on a fresh challenge for a year after resigning as England’s boss following the Euro 2024 final defeat at the hands of Spain.

The 54-year-old already has an existing relationship with the Eagles’ fanbase, thanks to making 117 appearances and chalking up a further 11 goal contributions along the way during his playing career, and Parish has refused to rule out the possibility of attempting to turn his head in the coming weeks.

The former Middlesbrough chief walked away from the England job in July, having been on a contract which allowed him to pocket £5million-per-year, and has been working as a technical observer at UEFA as he carefully plots his next managerial move instead of rushing back into the limelight.

Palace are desperate for Glasner to oversee an improved run of form and remain in his current position instead of being forced to wield the axe, GMS sources have learned, but it is likely that he needs to show progress between now and the next international break after Parish has become increasingly concerned thanks to the winless run and lack of goals.

West Ham are considering a move for Edin Terzic if they decide to sack Julen Lopetegui, according to Patrick Berger.

The Sky Sports journalist reported on 22 October that the former Borussia Dortmund boss has been considered by AC Milan and the Hammers, among others.

The 41-year-old will have to wait to see “if something happens in the coaching position” at the London Stadium before making the move after leaving the Bundesliga giants in July.

The German is said to be ready for a new job in football and has been watching games in England and Italy this season.

Edin Terzic to replace Julen Lopetegui at West Ham?

It is safe to say that it hasn’t been the ideal start to life in East London for Lopetegui who has failed to make a positive impression on supporters so far.

The football hasn’t been better or even much different to that of David Moyes which fans got tired of towards the end of his tenure.

The tip of the iceberg was a 4-1 defeat last time out against Tottenham despite going 1-0 up through Mohammed Kudus before he was sent off.

This could see the Irons’ hierarchy make a move to sack the former Real Madrid boss despite him being in the job for just four months.

If they are to move the Spaniard on, Terzic could prove to be a well-received option for the London Stadium faithful after his work with Borussia Dortmund.

The Yellow Wall made the trip to Wembley last season after reaching the Champions League final before losing to an elite Real Madrid side.

It will be interesting to see how long Lopetegui gets before he is relieved of his duties and replaced by another manager.

In other West Ham news, questions of Tim Steidten and his £100m-plus summer spend have been asked behind the scenes.

Arsenal Star, Oleksandr Zinchenko has revealed Manchester City kept him on an “academy contract” during his first three seasons at the club, despite playing a part in two title-winning campaigns.

Zinchenko joined City in 2016 from Russian club Ufa, having been spotted by club scouts a year earlier playing in the Youth Champions League for Shakhtar Donetsk against his current club, Arsenal.

The Ukrainian jumped at the chance to join City but says he was initially told he would be on youth wages until he broke into the first team. He was sent on loan to Dutch club PSV before returning to win back-to-back two Premier Leagues under Pep Guardiola, but claims he was still not awarded a professional contract until June 2019.

Writing in his new book Believe, Zinchenko explains: “The City lawyers said: ‘Look, this is an academy player contract, right? As soon as you make your first official game for City, we’re going to extend your contract with the real money that we pay full professionals. Not this academy player deal. So trust us.’ Of course I said yes. Follow the dream. But do you know when my next contract came? The one that put me on full professional money? After I had played 43 games in the Premier League! I won two Premier League titles playing on an academy contract.”

Zinchenko also revealed out how he learnt not to cross manager Pep Guardiola, after biting back in training.

“Out loud I said: ‘Mister! Like, I just did one wrong pass, you know?’ And his reaction was incredible,” Zinchenko writes in his book. “‘Oh, OK, sorry, sorry, Mr Zinchenko. Sorry,’ said Pep. ‘OK, guys, thank you, everyone inside.’ And he went in, walked to the changing room. Training over, all because I talked back. I knew I was in trouble.”

Zinchenko was benched the next game and later apologised to the manager.

“Listen, first of all, I was not right,” he told the Guardian. “I understood straight away, but it would have been silly if I went right to his office and apologised. It was game day minus one and I knew his head was totally on the gameplan. But I did apologise after the game.”

Their relationship strengthened after the incident, so much so that Guardiola phoned Zinchenko the night City won the treble last year – by which time the defender had been an Arsenal player for a full season – to say thank you for his contribution.

Source: Irish Independent