(Credit: Imago)

Ben Palmer

Mon 31 March 2025 19:40, UK Updated Tue 1 April 2025 18:35, UK

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner may be heading for the exit this summer despite his side’s win over Fulham in the FA Cup quarter-final.

Following a miserable start to the season, as the club struggled to deal with the loss of Michael Olise to Bayern Munich, the Eagles found themselves teetering above the relegation zone.

Since Christmas though, the club’s fortunes have completely switched in the second half of the season, and a convincing win over Fulham means Palace will now play Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-final, as they attempt to win their first ever major trophy.

However, there remain question marks over Glasner’s future as manager of the club, with his contract expiring, star players likely leaving this summer, and a puzzling boardroom appointment potentially in the works.

Oliver Glasner has one year remaining on current deal

Glasner has been linked with a move to RB Leipzig a number of times this year and with Marco Rose being sacked by the German side on Sunday (30 March), their interest in the Austrian manager has surely been reignited.

Zsolt Low has been put in charge until at least the end of the season, but past that, it is unclear who will take the reigns at Germany’s least popular club side.

With just one year remaining on Glasner’s contract, Palace have minimal leverage when it comes to stopping any potential deal.

However, Leipzig may be a slightly less interesting proposition for the Austrian boss this summer, the East German club are sat sixth in the Bundesliga and look in danger of missing out not only on Champions League football, but also on Europa League football.

Should Palace manage to qualify for Europe through the Premier League, or winning the FA Cup, that would go some way to convincing Glasner to stay at Selhurst Park, but there are more issues than European football to contend with in the summer.

Crystal Palace face repeat of Michael Olise situation with Guehi, Wharton, Mateta exits

Losing Olise caused Palace to struggle immensely this season, likely costing them a genuine chance to compete for Champions League qualification, with the Premier League set to send five teams to UEFA’s premier competition next year.

Marc Guehi looks set to leave in the summer, Man City and Tottenham are interested in Adam Wharton, and Jean-Philippe Mateta could be on his way to Man United.

Losing just one of those players will come as a major blow to Palace and Glasner and without some promises of serious investment from the Eagles’ hierarchy this summer, the Austrian manager will be concerned about his team’s ability to consistently improve.

As seen with their opponents on Saturday, Fulham, there is always a limit on how much you can improve when you make a habit of selling your best players without replacing, as the Cottagers have experienced with the departures of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Tosin Adarabioyo and Joao Palhinha.

Dougie Freedman exit could destabilise Glasner’s operation

Finally, there remains the question of who will be in charge of the summer’s recruitment process, following the departure of Dougie Freedman.

As reported by Football Insider, former West Ham technical director, Tim Steidten is in pole position to take over at Selhurst Park and to say his recruitment at the London Stadium was poor would be an understatement.

Over £120million [transfermarkt] was spent on players last summer in East London, with only Aaron Wan-Bissaka looking good value for money.

Convincing Glasner to remain with the Eagles will be no mean feat for chairman Steve Parish, but if he can persuade Wharton and Mateta to remain, whilst outlining a strong transfer plan in the summer, there is a good chance the Austrian manager could be convinced to extend his stay in South London, but Europe next term and a trophy this year would also help a lot.