Petrescu distances himself from Palace role

The former Chelsea defender was widely reported to be one of the frontrunners for the vacancy and was understood to have held talks with the Selhurst Park outfit.

However, as former Stoke City manager Tony Pulis re-emerges as the leading contender, Petrescu claims he was never interested in taking over from Ian Holloway.

"I have not been in talks with any club being under contract with another outfit," he told Sovetskiy Sport. "And I'm not set to do it in the future. Probably the clubs contacted my agent, not me.

"I love England and I'm really pleased with the fact that English clubs still remember me, but currently a move for me to England is absolutely impossible as I'm still under contract with Dynamo."

Crystal Palace are currently bottom of the English top flight and face a trip to Hull City on Saturday.