Crystal Palace enter race to sign Andoni Iraola in blow to Chelsea plan | OneFootball

Spaniard is a leading option for Blues but they face plenty of competition for his signature

Iraola is aware of Palace’s interest in him. He has announced he will leave Bournemouth at the end of the season and is expecting to be in high demand among European clubs searching for a new head coach.

There is a chance that Bournemouth could qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history in what would be Iraola’s final act at the club before he leaves at the end of his contract.

Andoni Iraola is in high demand

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Palace have been succession-planning for months after chairman Steve Parish was made aware of Glasner’s decision not to sign a new deal as early as October.

Glasner guided Palace to their first-ever piece of major silverware with FA Cup glory last season and his final match in charge is now set to be the UEFA Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano on May 27.

Palace target Iraola is also a candidate for the Chelsea job. The Blues have Calum McFarlane in charge as interim head coach until the end of the season, when they will appoint a permanent successor to Liam Rosenior, sacked last month.

Iraola, Fulham boss Marco Silva and the out-of-work former Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso are all candidates and Chelsea’s sporting directors are also believed to be eyeing up others.

Iraola had previously been linked with Athletic Bilbao but the Spanish club have just appointed former Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic as their new head coach.