Crystal Palace hires former Ajax, Inter Milan manager Frank de Boer

Frank de Boer is the new manager of Crystal Palace after a one-month search following the resignation of Sam Allardyce. De Boer didn’t have the greatest ending to his tenure at Ajax and only lasted 85 days in charge of Inter Milan, but he still has a good reputation in the sport and is likely to be greeted with cautious optimism from Palace supporters.

Allardyce impressed last season, turning around a poor Palace side to keep them in the Premier League comfortably, but he left the post to spend more time with his family and indicated that he has no intention to return to managing at a high level.

The hiring of de Boer signals ambition from Palace’s ownership to develop young players and put on a bit more of a show than Allardyce’s team did. While Allardyce is extremely effective at saving teams from relegation, his rigid defensive style isn’t something most owners and fans want to see their team commit to long term. You can expect to see de Boer’s team play in a more ambitious 4-3-3 that aims to retain possession in the attacking half.

Though de Boer lost the Eredivisie title on the final day two seasons ago, he did win the Dutch league four times and had a huge hand in the development of some young Ajax stars. The likes of Davy Klaassen, Arek Milik, Jasper Cillessen, Daley Blind, and Christan Eriksen improved significantly under de Boer and went on to be sold to top leagues for huge fees.

But for Palace to get the most out of de Boer’s ability to develop young players, they’re going to need a strong scouting structure around him. De Boer has turned great young talents into solid Premier League players, but there’s only so much a coach can do if the people above him aren’t making good decisions.

Palace ownership probably thinks they have a good enough core of veteran players to stay in the league this year. With de Boer taking over as manager, look for them to sign some young, high risk/high reward players in the transfer market.