Dan Petrescu has denied he is a candidate to become Crystal Palace manager and insisted he is happy at Dinamo Moscow.

The former Chelsea defender had been strongly linked with the post at Selhurst Park, which has been vacant since Ian Holloway departed almost a month ago.

But Petrescu said: “First, I want to say that I do not conduct negotiations with other clubs when I’m under contract. If they spoke to someone, it was only to my agent.

“Secondly, I am pleased that the English clubs remember my name. I would work there... but right now it’s impossible.”

Former Stoke City boss Tony Pulis has emerged as the favourite to take the reins at Palace, who are six points adrift of Premier League safety.

Former Real Madrid assistant manager Aitor Karanka was heavily linked with the post, only to take the managerial reins at Middlesbrough last week.

Another reported target was Wales manager Chris Coleman, although he too is now out of the running after signing a new contract with the Welsh FA during the international break.

Ex-Inter boss Andrea Stramaccioni and former Palace boss Iain Dowie remain reported possibilities for the south Londoners.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.