Crystal Palace has appointed former Ajax Amsterdam and Inter Milan coach Frank de Boer as their new manager on a three-year contract. That announcement had taken the club by surprise, causing them to miss out on new Watford boss Marco Silva – who gained plenty of admirers while at Hull City last season. Palace have been without a manager since Sam Allardyce opted to leave the south London club at the end of last season after securing their top-flight survival.
De Boer played for Ajax Amsterdam and FC Barcelona during a distinguished career which also saw him make 112 appearances for the Dutch national team. De Boer is Palace’s fifth permanent manager in four years, though marks a significant move away from the more old school British coaches they have opted for recently. In fact, he is only the second foreign manager to take charge of Palace after Italian player-coach Attilio Lombardo’s seven-game spell in 1998.
Other established fact on the club side is their serious interest in signing Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho, who will cost around £20m, as they look to build a squad capable of challenging for Europe.