Gareth Southgate has been touted as a possible replacement for beleaguered Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner, despite his apprent disinterest in pursuing this option at this point in time.
The Eagles have been stumbling disastrously in their start to the season under the Austrian boss, without a win in their first eight Premier League games, and with just three points to their name and having scored only five goals.
A lot had been expected of Palace this season After a strong end to the last campaign with Glasner in charge but it already seems likely now that they will be battling relegation instead.
The south London club are still able to stay away from the lowest rung of the table thanks to Wolves and Southampton undergoing even worse campaigns so far, with just one point each.
The Guardian reports that Glasner needs urgently to turn things aeound rapidly before the next international break to keep hold of his job, with just four matches left to turn things around, which is when Palace will then host Tottenham on Sunday before travelling to Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup and then meet Wolves in the league before a home joust with Fulham.
If Glasner has not picked up some wins by then he could well be out of Selhurst Park and the Guardian’s report states that Southgate could well be a likely target to replace him as the former England manager started his professional career with the Eagles, making his debut for the club in 1990 and going on to play nearly 200 times for them before leaving for Aston Villa.
Southgate was a big hit as a player at Palace, becoming captain of the club at just 23 years old, playing in midfield before he was later moved into central defence.
However, he has said that he does not intend to return to coaching in the near future after his exit from the England job over the summer.
‘I won’t coach in the next year, for sure,’ Southgate said at the ECA Europe general assembly. ‘I’m certain of that.
‘I need to give myself time to make good decisions. When you come out of a really big role you need to give your body time, you need to give your mind time.’
The 54-year-old is not the only name linked with replacing Glasner, with Graham Potter and David Moyes also touted as candidates.
If Glasner is to lose his job then it would be a remarkable stepdown for him after a fabulous start at Palace and being linked with the Bayern Munich job over the summer.
Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeness revealed that the club had spoken to Glasner about the manager’s role which Vincent Kompany eventually took up, but Palace had no intention of letting him go then.
‘We spoke with Glasner, who we also liked,’ Hoeness said. ‘He was very keen on joining FC Bayern, absolutely keen. But his club did not release him, and FC Bayern is not all-powerful either.’