Roy has £40m Palace fund
ROY HODGSON has been handed a £40million January transfer war chest to keep Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
But Hodgson has also been warned that there will also have to be a clear-out of fringe players during the next transfer window with as many as half a dozen being shipped out if buyers can be found.
Hodgson oversaw training at the club’s Beckenham HQ for the first time yesterday after taking over on Tuesday.
The new manager, who succeeds Dutchman Frank de Boer, sacked on Monday after four defeats in four Premier League games under his command, has been told he can also spend any profits from fees brought in from any departures in January.
One of the key negotiating points for Hodgson in taking the job was that he could bring his former England and Fulham No 2 Ray Lewington into Selhurst with him. De Boer’s former assistant Sammy Lee left the club on Tuesday.
Palace spent about £34m on new players in the summer, but still have some cash left in the kitty. Brondby and Denmark goalkeeper Frederick Ronnow, valued at £3m, is likely to be a target.
Brighton manager Chris Hughton believes De Boer’s sacking strengthens the case for the introduction of a window to limit the hiring and firing of managers.
He supports the view there should be a restriction on clubs making changes in the dugout that mirrors the transfer window for players – although he admits trigger-happy owners are unlikely to agree.
“It’s an interesting thought and one that deserves more consideration,” said Hughton. REAL MADRID’S rising star Marco Asensio missed his club’s Champions League opener last night due to an infection caused by shaving his legs. Real coach Zinedine Zidane said the 21-year-old midfielder, left, would not feature against APOEL Nicosia because of a pimple that prevented him from pulling his sock up. ARSENE WENGER has likened the last three injury-blighted years of Jack Wilshere to a car crash as the Arsenal midfielder prepares to get back behind the wheel in the Europa League tonight.
The game against FC Cologne – back in European football after an absence of 25 years – is an opportunity for Wenger to rotate his players.
And one glance at training ahead of the game showed just how low it is in his priorities with a London derby against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next up for the Gunners.
No Petr Cech, Laurent Kosielny, Alexandre Lacazette, Danny Welbeck, Granit Xhaka, Mesut Ozil or Alex Ramsey.
No Francis Coquelin, who Wenger confirmed would be out for three weeks with the hamstring injury he picked up against Bournemouth.
It is nearly three years since Wilshere managed a full 90 minutes at the Emirates and while Wenger refused to say whether he would start, the player can expect to make his first appearance there of any sort since May 2016.
After a season on loan at Bournemouth, Wilshere’s pre-season was again interrupted by niggling injury. But now the physical wounds have healed, Wenger needs to know what psychological scars have been left.
“We are all different in front of something like that,” said Wenger. “Some come back like nothing happened to them, some are traumatised for their whole life.
“It’s like if you have a car accident. Some don’t want to drive any more and some take the car and go on again. It depends on the personality of people.
“The disadvantage is of course that he was out of the game for a long time but there are advantages as well.
“Because he knows his body well, he has become very professional and learnt how much time it takes to get back (3-4-3) OSPINA; HOLDING, MERTESACKER, MUSTAFI; BELLERIN, WILSHERE, ELNENY, KOLASINAC; WALCOTT, GIROUD, IWOBI. (4-4-2) HORN; KLUNTER, MERE, HEINTZ, HECTOR; RISSE, LEHMANN, HOGER, BITTENCOURT; OSAKO, CORDOBA. REF: J Estrada (Spa). TV: BT Sport 2. KICK-OFF: 8.05pm.