England assistant Anthony Barry emerges as frontrunner for Crystal Palace job as Sage's position wavers

England assistant manager Anthony Barry has emerged as the frontrunner to take charge at Crystal Palace if Pierre Sage is dismissed, with Mirror Sport understanding the 40-year-old has already been sounded out by club bosses about what would be his first senior managerial role in the Premier League.

Sage has endured a wretched start since taking over at Selhurst Park, losing six of Crystal Palace’s nine Premier League fixtures to leave them in the relegation zone, currently above only Sunderland and Nottingham Forest.

Two fixtures loom large in determining Sage’s immediate future: a Europa League tie against Hoffenheim on Thursday, followed by a home Premier League clash with Liverpool on Sunday — the last games before the international break. Results in both are expected to weigh heavily on the club’s thinking.

Barry has built a reputation as one of the most promising coaches in the English game. Before joining the England setup, he worked at club level with Chelsea and Bayern Munich, and served as an assistant to Roberto Martinez with both the Belgium and Portugal national sides. Tuchel was sufficiently impressed by Barry’s work at Chelsea and Bayern to bring him along as his assistant when he took the England job, and Barry subsequently signed a new contract with the Three Lions running through to Euro 2028.

Despite that long-term commitment to the national team, Barry has attracted interest from several Premier League clubs. The prospect of stepping into management at the top level of English football could prove difficult to resist, should Palace move to formalise their interest.