Crystal Palace Considering Bringing Sam Allardyce Out of Retirement to Replace Frank de Boer

Crystal Palace are reportedly interested in coaxing Sam Allardyce from retirement to return as manager should they part company with beleaguered boss Frank de Boer.

According to The Times, De Boer held talks with Palace chairman Steve Parish on Monday after the Eagles suffered their third Premier League defeat in as many games since the Dutchman arrived.

De Boer arrived promising to implement an elegant, possession-based culture at Selhurst Park, but with Palace now second bottom of the table and without a single league goal scored, his position looks under threat.

Former England manager Sam Allardyce stepped down as manager after keeping the Glaziers up last season and may be reluctant to return after citing a lack of time with his family as his reason for retiring.

Fellow former England manager Roy Hodgson is apparently also being considered, as well as Slavisa Jokanovic, whose Fulham side came close to Premier League promotion via the play-offs last season.

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Recruitment has also been an issue for the South Norwood club; Man Utd’s Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek both arrived on loan this summer, but the club have yet to secure any permanent additions other than £8m summer signing Jaïro Riedewald.

The former Ajax centre-back was De Boer’s pick, but hasn’t covered himself in glory since his arrival last month, and attempts to re-sign Liverpool’s Mamadou Sakho have so far been priced out by the Merseyside club.

Palace are expected to give De Boer some time to adapt a new league, but a tough run of fixtures after the international break including Southampton, Burnley Man City and Man Utd will be a real test for the former Inter Milan manager.