Crystal Palace set to offer Roy Hodgson a new deal

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Bengaluru, June 28: South London club Crystal Palace are all set to reward boss Roy Hodgson a new contract after their Premier League survival.

The former England boss is set to sign a one-year extension keeping him at Selhurst Park until 2020. The 71-year-old took over from Frank De Boer in September with the club winless and rooted to the foot of the table but he turned their fortunes around, guiding them to a ninth place finish and will now plot to strengthen the side this summer.

According to reports, The Eagles want managerial stability and are eager for Hodgson to put pen-to-paper. The manager, however, remains in no rush to sign a new contract even though he is aware he will earn a rise on his £2.5million pay packet.

Following a modest playing career that actually began in Palace's youth setup back in the early 1960s, Hodgson first turned his hand to management in 1976 when he was given the chance to take charge of Swedish club Halmstad. He enjoyed immediate success by guiding the unfancied club to the Allsvenskan title in his first season, despite being tipped for relegation, before winning a second in 1979.

He later spent most of the 1980s in Sweden with various clubs, before later taking jobs in Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, UAE, Norway and Finland. He had managed Blackburn in the Premier League in the late 1990s, and has since also led Fulham, West Brom and Liverpool.

The former Liverpool boss will continue his pursuit for key man Ruben Loftus-Cheek but has been told by Chelsea that he is only available on loan.

Crystal Palace were hoping for a permanent deal but Chelsea see the England international as a big part of their future. It is reported that Hodgson will be given limited funds to spend this summer and will need to rely heavily on player sales. They might feel the temptation to flog Wilfried Zaha who is wanted by Spurs in a big money deal but replacing the Ivorian international will be a tricky job as well.

The Eagles remain desperate for the winger to stay, eyeing him as an integral member of the side. But an offer of around £70m could see the cash improve other areas of the squad.

While the speedster was injured last season, the South Londoners lost all nine Premier League games which speaks for his massive importance for them.

Christian Benteke is also attracting interest from England as well as abroad and he could also get them decent money even though the Belgian has struggled last season.