Freedman to leave Palace and considering Saudi role

Crystal Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman managed the club from 2011-12 before joining Bolton

Crystal Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman will leave the club and is considering taking up a position in Saudi Arabia.

Freedman, 50, has been with Palace as a player, manager, and in his current role since 2017.

He was responsible for the recruitment of players including Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi, Adam Wharton and Dean Henderson.

Sources close to the situation claim Freedman has been offered the position of head of sport with the Diriyah Company, which owns Al-Diriyah, who play in the Saudi second division.

The role is believed to be a multi-discipline one in which he would shape the performance philosophy of up to seven other sports under the Diriyah Company umbrella.

There is no confirmation whether Freedman has formally accepted the position.

The former Scotland striker has been aware of the interest from Saudi Arabia for at least a month, but the move accelerated over the past week. He is expected to continue on a consultancy basis with Palace over the summer before leaving.

He twice had conversations with Manchester United and held talks with Newcastle last season.

Iain Moody, who works closely with Palace's recruitment operation on a consultancy basis, will undertake a more prominent position at the club, but as things stand will not directly replace Freedman.

Palace chairman Steve Parish said Freedman had been "instrumental in everything we have done over the past eight years".

Freedman added: "To be leaving the club with a squad full of exciting talent led by an excellent manager, I truly believe the foundations are in place to be built upon."

In what was otherwise set to be a quiet news week for Crystal Palace, the departure of sporting director Dougie Freedman has certainly sparked it to life.

This is the latest chapter in a storied relationship between the Scottish forward turned coach turned head of recruitment.

Fans are well versed in the history, from Stockport heroics to his Bolton departure and everything in between. Yet his latest exit does create a power vacuum in the recruitment side of the club.

Whereas other sporting directors may be more technocratic by nature, Freedman was pivotal within the Palace set-up, taking a more hands-on approach to scouting and player assessment than the equivalent at other Premier League clubs.

The reality is that over the past 30 years at the club, there have only been a few cohesively and logically-built squads at Selhurst Park, and most have had the fingerprints of Freedman all over them.

Ian Holloway may have a medal from winning the play-offs in 2013, but it was built on the back of Freedman's team - one rebuilt from the ashes of administration and turned into a competitor.

Freedman showed he was adept at capitalising on an eye for talent and the power of persuasion to construct a team that combined youth and unwanted veteran talent, all on a budget.

Therefore, it was a natural career progression for him to move into a backroom role focused on that aspect of the sport rather than coaching when he returned to the club in 2017.

It may have taken a couple of years to feel that impact, but the summer of 2021 may have been his crowning achievement. The arrivals of Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen and Michael Olise - all in a single window - were added to Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta from the previous season. The players have been the basis of the team's rejuvenation in recent years.

Within the financial constraints of Palace, there is a necessity to stretch the budget and still achieve a very high hit rate on players. Although that recruitment record isn't flawless, the club remains in a strong position due to those that succeeded.

For Palace, the question will be what comes next? With Freedman gone and likely many of his handpicked scouts with him, the team will need to navigate a challenging summer while reorganising their recruitment team.