Peterborough United director of football Barry Fry has predicted Crystal Palace will appoint Swansea City boss Steve Cooper as their new manager. 

Reports earlier this week revealed the Welshman had been interviewed twice for the Palace job with the south London club looking for a permanent replacement for Roy Hodgson.

In what is his first job in senior management, Cooper has taken the Swans to the Championship play-offs in consecutive seasons and is well regarded for his development of young players.

It seems he's a coach that is highly rated in the EFL as well as, speaking to Football FanCast, Fry has waxed lyrical about him and tipped Palace to give him the job.

He said: "I think Palace will go for a younger guy. The boy Cooper has done brilliantly at Swansea on a shoe-string budget.

“He got in the play-offs last year, the play-off final this year. Plays excellent football, been in charge of England at youth level when they were successful, so he’s got a lot of contacts and plays the right way.”

With Swansea suffering defeat to Brentford in the play-off final last weekend, the prospect of Premier League football may be too much for Cooper to resist.

A number of other candidates have been linked with the vacant role at Selhurst Park, including Burnley boss Sean Dyche and former Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo.

The Verdict

This will likely be a concern for Swans fans, who won't want to lose Cooper on the back of two successful seasons.

Though they didn't quite make it to the Premier League, Swansea made it to the play-off semi-final in 2019/20 and to the final in 2020/21 so may feel they can go one better next term.

Though he'd certainly be something of a risk, there's a huge amount to like about Cooper – not least the way he's succeeded on a smaller budget and brought young players through.

On top of that, his more attacking football may be a breath of fresh air for Palace fans after Hodgson's more conservative approach.