Crystal Palace have appointed Lens manager Pierre Sage as their new head coach on a three-year contract. The 47-year-old Frenchman takes charge at Selhurst Park as one of the most talked-about young coaches in European football, and his arrival marks a significant moment in the club's recent rise.
Sage replaces Oliver Glasner, who left the Eagles at the end of the 2025-26 campaign after two and a half years in charge. Palace had been linked with several names before settling on Sage, with former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola, now at Liverpool, among the leading candidates. Frank Lampard, Kieran McKenna and Sean Dyche were also reportedly considered.
The Frenchman, who took his first managerial role at Chambéry back in 2013, joins after a standout 12 months at Lens. He was named Ligue 1 manager of the year after guiding the club to a second-placed finish and the first Coupe de France triumph in their 120-year history. Lens were one of the standout sides in the French Ligue 1 last season.
Before Lens, Sage spent 14 months as head coach of Lyon, initially on an interim basis, steering them to Europa League qualification in 2024-25. He becomes one of the more intriguing new faces among Premier League managers for the season ahead, and will be joined at the club by Jamal Alioui, his assistant coach at Lens.
Big shoes to fill after Glasner's success
Sage inherits a side transformed under Glasner, who confirmed in January that he would step down this summer. The Austrian delivered three trophies during his time in south London, beginning with the first major silverware in the club's history, the FA Cup in 2025. Glasner's name now sits among the FA Cup winning managers after that landmark success.
He followed it up by lifting the Community Shield and the Conference League last season. That European triumph means Palace will compete in the Europa League during Sage's debut campaign, giving the new head coach a taste of continental football right away. The club's wider profile and squad makeup can be seen in our Crystal Palace squad numbers guide.
Sage acknowledged the scale of the task ahead, saying his predecessor had achieved remarkable things and that he intends to do the same. He added that he arrives "with a lot of ambition", and wants to carry over the "winning habits" he built in France into a new club and a new project.
What can Palace fans expect from Sage?
Sage's Lens side were built on aggressive pressing and a clear willingness to attack quickly the moment they won the ball back. The underlying numbers point to a team intent on regaining possession high up the pitch, with Lens recording 426 high turnovers across the 2025-26 season and regularly turning those moments into danger, generating 69 shots and seven goals from them.
The emphasis was not simply on winning the ball, but on doing so in areas where they could threaten immediately, and that shaped the way they attacked. Lens produced 65 direct attacks and 55 fast breaks last season, underlining a clear preference for moving forward at speed rather than recycling possession.
Their overall profile reflects that trade-off. Lens averaged 51.9% possession in 2025-26, but their game was less about long spells on the ball and more about what happened the instant they regained it. It points to a deliberate strategy rather than any lack of control.
The result was a side with a distinct identity, one less concerned with dominating possession and more focused on controlling matches through pressure, regains and rapid transitions. Whether that approach translates to success in England remains to be seen, but Palace supporters can expect an energetic, front-foot team. Sage will hope his methods can earn him a place among the country's leading coaches and, in time, perhaps the silverware to match Glasner's. He could even chase honours in Europe, where a strong run would write his name into the all-time Europa League records.
