Roy Hodgson took charge of his 500th game as a manager of an English side on Friday night, but any celebrations would’ve been cut short by Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-1 win at Selhurst Park.
The Eagles have been a revelation under the former England coach, the elder statesman amongst Premier League managers at 76 years of age.
It’s clear to anyone that Hodgson’s love of the game is still intact, as is his desire to continue working with talented, young players.
One of those is Eberechi Eze, who as the Evening Standard report, was the subject of a failed £60m bid from Man City in the summer.
Given that transfermarkt have pinned his value at €48m (£41m), that’s some game of brinksmanship being played by Steve Parish and the Palace board.
In any event, the report in the Evening Standard suggests that Palace are no confident that the player will sign a new deal with them.
As there are just a few small details to iron out, it’s possible that any deal could be announced in the near future.
That would surely be Hodgson’s hope as he looks to continue building a squad that the next manager can inherit and take forward.
With a number of international players in situ, Palace are in a great place at present and Hodgson has certainly played his part in that.