Andoni Iraola Nears Crystal Palace Manager Role After 1-0 Final Win
Crystal Palace manager plans have moved quickly after the club reached an agreement with Andoni Iraola to take the job. Palace are trying to build on a season that already brought the Conference League and a second major trophy in a year.
Jean-Philippe Mateta supplied the only goal in Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano, sealing the trophy and sending Palace into next season’s Europa League. Steve Parish said, "We have got a taste for it now, we want to keep it going."
Palace Turn to Iraola
Iraola stepped down as Bournemouth boss at the end of the season after leading them into the Europa League. Palace have been waiting for his answer after making him a proposal that included assurances about significant influence over recruitment, and they wanted a decision by the end of the weekend.
The move would fill the vacancy left by Oliver Glasner’s exit from Selhurst Park. It also follows Palace’s FA Cup final win over Manchester City at the end of last season, which gave the club two major trophies in a year.
Recruitment Power at Selhurst Park
The recruitment offer sits at the center of Palace’s push. For a club coming off a European place and a trophy run, the next manager will not just set the team shape; he will help decide how the summer market is handled.
That is why the alternative list matters. Frank Lampard, Kieran McKenna, Pierre Sage, Sean Dyche and Thomas Frank are on Palace’s Plan B list if the agreement does not turn into an appointment.
Parish framed the summer work after the final with two direct lines: "We have gone up a level and we have got to try and stay there. We will have a week to celebrate and then work hard in the summer." Those words now sit against a managerial search that has already reached the point of an agreement, with late Wednesday reports saying Iraola will probably be announced on Thursday as Palace’s new manager.
AC Milan Lost Ground
Palace’s position was strengthened by Iraola’s preference to stay in England. Daniele Longo wrote on X that the issue was not money or contract terms, but project and personal matters because he would prefer to stay in the Premier League and in London.
AC Milan had also moved for him after sacking Massimiliano Allegri for failing to qualify for the Champions League. Palace, though, entered the last stretch with the clearer fit: a new manager, a rising squad, and a recruitment say that lines up with the club’s next step.
For Palace, the practical outcome is straightforward. If the agreement holds, the club gets the manager it wanted after winning the Conference League and securing Europa League football, and the summer work around Selhurst Park can begin with a defined target in place.
