Manchester United have been put on red alert after Oliver Glasner confirmed he’d be leaving Crystal Palace at the end of the season.
The Austrian has won a legion of admirers since his Palace appointment last year, and guided the Eagles to their first major piece of silverware in their history as the south London side beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final last May.
Palace have been working tirelessly to tie Glasner down to a new deal, yet the 51-year-old announced on Friday that he’d be leaving Selhurst Park in the summer.
Glasner confirms he wants 'a new challenge'
“I already informed the club months ago that I wanted a new challenge,” Glasner said in Friday’s press conference.
"We had a very long talk, and I told him (chairman Steve Parish) I will not sign a new contract.
"We agreed at the time it was the best to keep it between us. It's the best that we could do that and keep it confidential for three months.
“But now it's important to have clarity, and we had a very busy schedule so that's why we didn't want to talk about it. Steve and I want the best for Crystal Palace.”
United considering next permanent appointment
The news came the same day that it was essentially confirmed that captain Marc Guehi would leave the club this month for Manchester City.
And Glasner’s announcement that he’d leave Palace this summer has put United on alert as they consider their next permanent manager.
The Manchester side relieved Ruben Amorim of his duties last week, and earlier this week announced that Michael Carrick would take over the Old Trafford reins until the end of the season.
United will then consider their next appointment in the off-season, with Thomas Tuchel and Roberto Di Zerbi also linked with a move to Manchester.
Palace enduring a miserable period
Confirmation that both Guehi and Glasner will be leaving in January and the summer, respectively, compounds what has been a miserable period for Palace.
The FA Cup holders were dumped out of the competition by lowly Macclesfield last weekend in what is one of the biggest FA Cup shocks in history.
Defeat at Macclesfield means Palace are winless in nine heading into Saturday’s game against Sunderland.
