Crystal Palace close to appointing Lens boss Sage | OneFootball

James Bools, Football reporter

Crystal Palace have reportedly agreed a deal in principle that would see Lens head coach Pierre Sage appointed as their new manager for the 2025/26 Premier League season.

The Eagles bid farewell to Oliver Glasner in the perfect fashion, winning the Europa Conference League – their maiden piece of continental silverware – after a largely disappointing league campaign finishing in the bottom half.

Sage has been steadily rebuilding his reputation in the game after being sacked by Lyon in January 2025 following a run of poor results with a glittering 12 months with Ligue 1 runners up Lens, winning their first ever Coup de France.

His current side finished second and just six points behind PSG after providing serious competition for top spot, in turn qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since the 2022/23 season when they ranked in the same place.

Glasner replaced the sacked Roy Hodgson at Selhurst Park in 2024, and led the club to FA Cup and Europa Conference League glory – the first major trophies in their history – as well as winning the Community Shield.

But with the former Frankfurt boss deciding he needs a new challenge, Sage has been lined up as his replacement after their previous top target Andoni Iraola replaced Arne Slot at Liverpool.

Why appoint Pierre Sage?

For Palace, the appeal of Sage is obvious. Like Glasner, who won the Europa League with Germain side Frankfurt in 2021-22, the Lons-le-Saunier native has demonstrated quite the knack for succeeding with smaller budgets.

Lens spent a total £48.8m on their transfers over the course of the season, a far cry from the £416m spent by Liverpool only to scrape fifth place and a spot in the Champions League – ultimately where Iraola saw his future.

One of Lens’ signings, former Palace striker Odsonne Édouard, arrived for just £3.2m and ended the season as their joint-top scorer with 12 goals alongside 31-year-old and fellow Frenchman Wesley Saïd.

This will be key as the Eagles look to stay within PSR limits ahead of a second successive continental campaign, with the South London side set to compete in the Europa League following their Conference League triumph.

Given the similarities between the two men, Palace chairman Steve Parish and the Selhurst Park faithful will be hoping the ex-Chambery boss can build on the foundations laid by Glasner and push on to further success in the coming years.