Avram Grant backed in to take Crystal Palace job behind Pulis

The money has flown in for former Chelsea, Portsmouth and West Ham boss Avram Grant to fill the vacant managerial position at Selhurst Park, though Tony Pulis remains the strong favourite.

We’ve already alluded to the fact that another former Chelsea boss, Roberto Di Matteo, would probably make an extremely popular choice with Crystal Palace fans to replace Ian Holloway.

However, Di Matteo remains a 16/1 outsider for the post at present, while a potentially less popular fan choice in the form of Grant has seemingly curried favour with punters who have backed the Israeli into 10/1.

Eagles chairman Steve Parish has already stipulated his desire to bring in a manager with Premier League experience and this certainly applies to Grant, while this is also sure to be a leading factor for the odds-on favourite Pulis at 4/7.

Grant makes an intriguing figure, especially after his time at Stamford Bridge where he went so close to securing a memorable Champions League win for Chelsea after replacing Jose Mourinho, only to be denied by spot kicks and subsequently losing his job.

His reputation as a nearly-man grew still further when he guided Portsmouth to an FA Cup final, ironically against his former employers, which they lost 2-1.

Unfortunately for Grant a tumultuous one-season spell at West Ham, which saw the club relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2010/11, has soured his reputation in England slightly.

Essentially though, he has shown a capacity to do well in the Premier League, particularly at Chelsea – where he didn’t lose a single home game – and his calm temperament could be an attractive prospect for Parish after the more outspoken Holloway.

Meanwhile, Neil Warnock remains another name firmly in the frame at 12/1.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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