Crystal Palace hold talks with Lucien Favre over vacant manager’s role

Crystal Palace have held positive talks with Lucien Favre over potentially replacing Roy Hodgson but could face competition from Everton to appoint the 63-year-old as manager.

Favre, out of work since being sacked by Borussia Dortmund in

December, is understood to have been identified as Palace’s preferred candidate in a difficult recruitment process during which they abandoned negotiations with Nuno Espírito Santo.

The former Switzerland midfielder is keen to manage in the Premier League and held discussions with Palace officials over the weekend to discuss his demands, with sources close to Favre saying he was impressed with their plans.

However, Everton are believed to have expressed interest in Favre, who led Dortmund to successive secondplace finishes in the Bundesliga during two full seasons in charge, as they search for a replacement for Carlo Ancelotti after his surprise departure for Real Madrid.

The former Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez is also a candidate for the Everton job, as is Nuno, the former Wolves manager whose talks with Palace broke down this month amid concerns over his demands.

Fenerbahce are understood to have contacted Favre’s representatives about their vacant managerial position in recent weeks, although it is thought he would prefer to work in England. Before joining Dortmund in 2018, he guided Nice to Champions League qualification during two seasons in Ligue 1 and he has also managed Borussia Mönchengladbach and Hertha Berlin.