Mark Guehi and Oliver Glasner: How did the departure of the Crystal Palace duo happen?

Glasner gathered all his players and staff at the club’s training ground before noon on Friday.

What arrived wasn’t necessarily a shock to the players, they all had to live under a rock not to know that their manager was very likely to leave in the summer.

But the timing set tongues wagging. Why now?

Before announcing it to the players, its captain, Guehi, confirmed his intention to join Manchester City.

Glassner is one of Guehi’s biggest supporters, and will remain so when they part ways.

It was always the Austrian’s intention that he and his captain would leave at the end of the season, but with Guehi’s departure pushed forward, it is perhaps not surprising that he has made the decision to confirm his intention to leave now as well.

However, cracks between Glasner and the palace hierarchy began to appear in the summer.

The Austrian coach has been vocal in his frustration at the lack of transfer deals. The club only signed left-back Borna Sosa and second-choice goalkeeper Walter Benitez before the final week of the transfer window, by which time the season had already begun.

They targeted Sporting defender Ousmane Diomandi, but the club never came close to reaching an agreement.

Glasner has been steadfast in his belief that the club must build on last season’s FA Cup victory by building a team capable of progressing up the Premier League, but who can also handle the demands of playing European football for the first time.

Eventually, Palace signed Jeremi Benno in a £26m deal, while youngsters Christantos Uche and Jade Canfoot also arrived.

But Uche and Canfoot rarely played, with Glasner relying largely on the same squad as he did last season with minimal rotation, a team that lost key player Eberechi Eze to Arsenal.

Palace started the season in style, with many eyeing a place in the Champions League.

But Glassner feared trouble was near. The coach is adept at juggling domestic and European football, having won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022.

Some behind the scenes believed that his concerns about the team’s rotation provided a clear signal that he intended not to renew his contract.

A source said: “It’s as if he’s got a pound of flesh from the players because he knows he’ll leave anyway.”

Ultimately, Glassner’s fears paid off. They are currently nine games without a win, with their latest defeat coming last Saturday against non-league Macclesfield as their efforts to retain the FA Cup came to an embarrassing end.

The team currently sits in 13th place in the Premier League ahead of this weekend’s match against Sunderland.

Preventing Guehi from joining Liverpool in a £35m deal in the summer represents somewhat of a victory for Glasner, who has been adamant all along that the defender should not be sold even if it meant the club would lose him for nothing this summer.

Although Glasner denied this, a number of sources suggested that the 51-year-old would have immediately considered his position had Palace sold Guehi in the summer.

Even after Glasner informed Parish of his intention to step down over dinner in October, I sensed that Palace had not given up hope of somehow convincing their manager to step down.

For example, the club’s record signing of Brennan Johnson is said to have been led by the Austrian.

Likewise, Parish is understood to have played a key role in ensuring Johnson arrived early in the January window to hand over his manager, which many interpreted as an attempt to convince Glasner that the club was prioritizing strengthening the squad with his imprint.

However, Palace have been active in identifying potential candidates to replace Glasner in the summer.