Crystal Palace ‘line up move’ for ‘under pressure’ Prem manager who is a ‘contender’ to join West Ham

Lewis Oldham
Palace manager Hodgson
Roy Hodgson embraces Steve Cooper.

According to reports, Crystal Palace ‘will make a move’ for Steve Cooper if the Nottingham Forest head coach leaves their Premier League rivals.

Hodgson returned to Crystal Palace for a second stint as manager in March and he successfully guided them away from the Premier League relegation zone during the run-in.

The veteran head coach penned a new one-year deal in the summer and Palace are 13th in the Premier League after winning four of their opening 13 games. They have just one win in their last six games and were beaten 2-1 by Luton Town over the weekend.

Cooper meanwhile was lauded for getting Nottingham Forest promoted via the play-offs at the end of the 2021/22 season.

The 43-year-old was on the brink of being sacked last season but Forest ended up sticking with him and they were rewarded for this decision as they secured their Premier League status with one game to spare.

Like Palace, Forest are on a terrible run of form as they have only won one of their last nine Premier League games since their 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea on September 2.

Earlier this week, it was claimed that Hodgson is under ‘increased pressure’ at the moment and talkSPORT are now reporting that Palace will make a move for Steve Cooper if he leaves Nottingham Forest. They explain.

‘Cooper is under fresh pressure at the City Ground after a run of one win in nine Premier League games.

‘Palace owner Steve Parish is a long-term admirer of Cooper and would actively consider replacing Roy Hodgson with the Welshman if he did become available.

‘Hodgson is only contracted to Palace until the end of the season. Cooper is also seen as a contender to replace David Moyes at West Ham when his deal expires in the summer.’

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Fabrizio Romano meanwhile is of the understanding that Nottm Forest are “still backing Cooper” but they “want to see different results”.

“There has been some speculation that Steve Cooper is now under growing pressure at Nottingham Forest after poor recent results. They’re on a run of just one win from their last nine, and sit 14th in the Premier League table,” Romano told Caught Offisde.

“For now, they’re still backing Cooper, as far as I understand, but of course they want to see different results. They also know it is about bad luck as injuries like Taiwo Awoniyi are creating an issue, it’s not easy to keep going without players like him.

“Personally, I think backing Cooper was a great choice one year ago so I expect they will try to follow that way, but the situation in terms of results on the pitch certainly has to change.”