Crystal Palace have set their sights on Lens manager Pierre Sage after missing out on Andoni Iraola, GIVEMESPORT understands.

Palace had been keen to make former Bournemouth boss Iraola their next manager, following the departure of Oliver Glasner, but the Spaniard looks set to make the move to Liverpool.

Liverpool announced the shock sacking of Arne Slot on Saturday after just two years at the club. The Dutchman had won the Premier League title in his first season in England, but could only guide the Reds to fifth in the defence of their title this season.

Pierre Sage has done an incredible job at Lens

Sage was one of the potential names on the Liverpool shortlist, but Iraola is the clear favourite to take over at Anfield, with Palace now exploring a move to bring Sage in.

Sage left his role as Lyon boss at the end of last season, making the move to Lens, where he has enjoyed a terrific first season in charge. Lens were in the mix to win the Ligue Un title until losing to champions Paris Saint-Germain in the penultimate game of the season.

They would go on to finish as runners-up for the sixth time in their history – they’ve won the title once – and lifted the Coupe de France trophy after a 3-1 win over Nice in the final.

Robin Risser won the Ligue Un Goalkeeper of the Year award under Sage’s tutelage this season. He speaks highly of the Frenchman. He said: “He has a unique ability to unite individuals. He makes every player feel completely involved, whether they are starting or on the bench. The trust he instills in us is what allows us to play with so much freedom on the pitch.”

In a tactical analysis of Lens’ challenge for the Ligue Un title, Goal.com said: “What the 47-year-old has achieved is truly extraordinary. When the season began, nobody was quite sure what to expect from a team that had lost three key players… but Sage’s primary objective was completely shattered by his brilliance.”

Sage is highly regarded and has another two years on his contract in northern France, so Palace would have to negotiate a compensation deal with the French outfit were they to take their initial interest further.

Glasner will go down in Crystal Palace history

Whoever comes in at Selhurst Park has big shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of Glasner.

The Austrian will go down as the Eagles’ most successful ever manager after guiding Palace to three trophies in the last two seasons – their first elite-level pieces of silverware in the club’s history.

Palace won the FA Cup in the 2024/25 season, beating Manchester City in the final, before then lifting the Community Shield at the start of the 2025/26 season, beating Premier League champions Liverpool.

Glasner’s final game in charge was the UEFA Conference League final last week, beating Rayo Vallecano 1-0 to qualify for next season’s Europa League.

The UFC is preparing for arguably the biggest card in their history next month, when the organisation takes over the White House to celebrate America’s birthday.

The USA will turn 250 years old this summer, and as a result, President Donald Trump is planning a major party across the country, with a number of events planned to align with the celebrations. One of those will be a huge eight-fight UFC card, headlined by Ilia Topuria defending his lightweight title against Justin Gaethje, while Alex Pereira will move up to heavyweight to compete with Ciryl Gane for the interim belt, and a chance to become a three-weight champion.

The event will take place on the 14th June, from the south lawn of the White House, and former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping is anticipating some huge clashes. Speaking exclusively to GIVEMESPORT, via prediction market experts Casino.org, the Brit has now shared his thoughts on the landmark card.

Exclusive: Bisping Predicts Pereira vs Gane

The co-main event will see Pereira take on Gane for the interime heavyweight championship, with the winner expected to face off against current undisputed champion Tom Aspinall later this year.

Pereira has previously held undisputed gold at middleweight and light heavyweight, and he will be looking to become the first ever three-weight world champion in the organisation’s history. But Bisping has now revealed that after seeing sparring footage, he is leaning towards Gane being the victor.

“There’s been a lot of footage recently of Alex Pereira sparring heavyweights like Tallison Teixeira,” he said.

“You can’t read too much into sparring footage, but if you look at that, Teixeira was clipping him quite a lot. Granted, he is 6 ‘9, he is gigantic for the division, but Ciryl Gane is very light on his feet. He’s used to fighting at heavyweight. He’s used to moving and operating at weighing 260 pounds.

“I said I would never doubt him (Alex Pereira) again after what he did to Magomed Ankalaev, knocking him out in like 60 seconds or something, and now here I am potentially doubting him again because he’s put weight on. He was at 185, he fought at 205, now he’s going up to 265 lbs. Can he do it? Of course, he can.

“He has knockout power, but Ciryl Gane is used to taking shots off heavyweights. He’s very light on his feet. He’s very elusive. He’s very good at kickboxing. He’s used to taking heavyweight shots, and he’s used to knocking out heavyweights. So, I’m leaning towards Ciryl Gane.”

Exclusive: Bisping Predicts Topuria vs Gaethje

Following the conclusion of that bout, the lightweight championship will also be contested in the main event, when the undefeated Topuria defends his belt for the first time against American Gaethje.

The Spaniard comes into the fight as a heavy favourite, having knocked out Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira in his last three fights, and Bisping told GIVEMESPORT that he is on the same train, expecting Topuria to come out victorious once again.

“I don’t think I’m gonna surprise anyone by saying I think Ilia Topuria does this,” he said. “He’s surgical, he’s precise, he’s got absolutely insane power.

“Justin’s got power, he knocked out Dustin Poirier, but the difference is that we routinely see this from Ilia Topuria. He knocks people out back to back. Max Holloway, Volkanovski, Charles Oliveira. And before he beat Oliveira, Charles tried to take him down, and within seconds, Ilia had him in a crucifix. And then he gets back to his feet, and he knocks him out cold.

“Justin’s great, Justin’s awesome, we’re all fans of Justin, but Justin’s got a lot of miles on the clock. And Justin went toe-to-toe with Paddy for 5 rounds and took a lot of damage. Ilia’s talking [about] his one shot. I think he will land that one shot. I mean, he’s saying that he’s gonna break his jaw in the first 15 seconds. You never know, we might see that.

“Justin Gaethje is a tough guy, though. You never know, maybe we have an upset on our hands. That’s mixed martial arts, it happens all the time. But the smart money’s on Ilia Topuria.”

Despite being a charity event, one Premier League legend has been banned from participating in Soccer Aid following a “string of complaints.” The much-anticipated event has taken place every year for the last 20, and this year’s match – set for West Ham’s London Stadium on May 31 – boasts a star-studded lineup.

A host of high-profile ex-footballers and celebrities have been confirmed for the game, which will see Robbie Williams go head-to-head in the dugout with Olympic icon and world’s fastest man Usain Bolt to raise money for UNICEF. Jordi Alba leads the football debutants, alongside female stars Jen Beattie and Ali Krieger, all of whom will play for the Rest of the World team.

Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Theo Walcott, Toni Duggan, Joe Hart, and Steph Houghton are among the England stars, while history will be made as actor Owen Cooper becomes the youngest-ever player and first-ever teenager after his role in the hit Netflix series ‘Adolescence’. But while bigger names help raise more money for charity, one of the Premier League’s biggest stars finds himself alone on the ban list.

The Three-Time Premier League Winner Banned From Soccer Aid

Yaya Toure – a Manchester City legend and widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation after winning three Premier League titles – played 73 minutes in the 2018 Soccer Aid at Old Trafford and was set to feature for the Rest of the World again in 2020. However, he exited the squad in disgrace.

Toure was axed from the fixture after The Sun reported that he had offered to hire sex workers for his teammates at the five-star hotel in a message sent in the WhatsApp group chat. The Ivorian also posted a video of a naked woman in a bath in the chat, which included female players and stars from both teams.

UNICEF and ITV received a “string of complaints” about Toure’s message, and he was criticised at breakfast in the hotel on the following Friday morning. After it was concluded his “behaviour didn’t align with the values of the event and its cause,” the former Barcelona midfielder was removed from the lineup and forced to issue an apology on social media for his “inappropriate joke”.

Yaya Toure’s Apology After Soccer Aid Controversy in 2020

“I would like to apologise to everyone involved in Soccer Aid for an inappropriate joke I deeply regret,” Toure wrote on X once the dust had settled on his misconduct. “It was meant as a joke, however, I lacked thorough consideration for the feelings of all the other participants. That being said, I deleted the jokes within minutes and I immediately apologised to all inside the group.”

That year’s Soccer Aid fixture was played behind closed doors and saw England win 4-3 on penalties. Toure has not been invited back to play in Soccer Aid since but made a surprise appearance on Sky Sports on Sunday after watching Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Chelsea, where he came under fire for his comments about the current Premier League leaders.