Crystal Palace doing 'due diligence' over Thomas Frank as new 'worries' emerge

Crystal Palace are weighing up whether to pursue Thomas Frank as a potential replacement for the under-pressure Pierre Sage.

The former Tottenham manager, who has been out of work since his dismissal in February, is being heavily tipped to take over should a position open up at Selhurst Park.

His work with Brentford means he still has a number of admirers in the Premier League who are ready to give him a shot at rebuilding his damaged reputation.

However, former Tottenham scout Mick Brown told Football Insider that Crystal Palace have "worries" about Frank's Spurs spell and how he struggled in North London.

As a result, the Eagles are working hard behind the scenes to assess the pros and cons of appointing the 53-year-old, but are also considering a number of alternative targets.

Frank was heavily considered by Crystal Palace before Sage's appointment during the summer, and having already decided against approaching him, they could do so again.

Could Thomas Frank be the next Crystal Palace manager?

Brown told Football Insider last month that Frank is keen to return to Premier League management and would be interested in landing the Crystal Palace job.

One month on, with Sage now increasingly likely to be sacked in the wake of a 5-0 defeat against Brighton, the former Brentford boss' name has been mentioned again.

Crystal Palace, though, have reservations about hiring Frank which were raised in the summer and are believed to have lingered, meaning they could look elsewhere.

"From what I'm told, Crystal Palace aren't entirely convinced by Thomas Frank," Brown told Football Insider.

"There's a reason they opted against hiring him during the summer and they went with Sage instead, because he was available and by all accounts very much open to the job.

"But Palace had second thoughts because they do have a few worries about whether he would be the right man for the job.

"After what he did at Tottenham, there are doubts about how good of a manager he really is, because he wasn't getting anything at all out of that Spurs team.

"Now imagine he comes into Crystal Palace now, mid-way through the season, and it turns out his spell at Tottenham wasn't just a blip and the same thing happens.

"Palace can't really afford to take a risk like that, so they'll be doing their due diligence to work out whether he would be the best option for them in their current situation.

"His work at Brentford was excellent, of course, but they haven't felt his departure at all and they're still playing good football and competing in the Premeir League.

"He is still highly thought of, and I'm sure he will be under consideration at Crystal Palace, but I don't think they're convinced and I expect they will be looking elsewhere as well."

Which other clubs are keen to appoint Frank?

Crystal Palace are not the only club who are currently keeping an eye on Frank's availability as they weigh up a managerial change, with rival bosses also under pressure.

Football Insider exclusively revealed on 15 October that Bournemouth have held internal talks about approaching Frank if they are forced to part ways with Marco Rose.

The Cherries recorded their first win of the Premier League season with a 2-0 victory against Sunderland last time out, but prior to that game, concerns had started to grow.

Questions had been asked about the manager's performance despite their Europa League victories, but those whispers have now been silenced with a win against Sunderland.

Bournemouth remain keen to stick by Rose, but if he cannot pull off a run of results and they feel they would be better off looking elsewhere, Frank is high on their list.