After the positive end to the 2023/24 campaign, Crystal Palace fans had high hopes for this summer.
Manager Oliver Glasner has European pedigree and if he’s the person to take the club to “the next level”, he needs backing in the transfer window.
The list of departures and arrivals shows that Steve Parish and Dougie Freedman got the men that they wanted, but could have also done slightly more to bolster Glasner’s options.
Departures
Jairo Riedewald - The Dutch midfielder, who struggled to make an impact at the club, was brought to Palace in July 2017 for £8m by short-lived manager Frank de Boer.
He only made 96 appearances in all competitions across seven seasons (most of them from the bench) and scored three goals. Riedewald left after his contract expired and has since joined Belgian Pro League team Royal Antwerp.
James Tomkins - A proper centre-back, Tomkins joined the Eagles in July 2016 from West Ham for £10m and made 136 appearances, scoring 10 goals in eight seasons.
He was one of Roy Hodgson’s consistent players for the first few years of his tenure. Tomkins is yet to find a new club after his contract expired.
Nathan Ferguson - A tragedy for both the player and the club, Ferguson made a single appearance for Crystal Palace, playing the last eight minutes in a 3-0 loss away at Tottenham Hotspur in the 2021/22 season.
Injury after injury prevented his Palace career from taking off following his arrival from West Brom in July 2020.
It’s safe to say that all Palace fans hope that Ferguson can find his place somewhere in the football pyramid, whether in England or abroad.
Michael Olise - Arguably the best-ever footballer to play in a Palace shirt, Olise will now run down the wing at the Allianz Arena.
He joined the Eagles from Reading for £8.3m in July 2021 and in 90 appearances scored 16 goals and made 25 assists for the club.
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Bayern Munich activated his release clause of £55m in July and he will undoubtedly be the star of the Bundesliga for years to come. An irreplaceable player, his loss will be severely felt.
Joachim Andersen - Andersen first arrived at the club from Ligue 1 side Lyon for £15m. The Great Dane made 113 appearances and scored 3 goals during his time at Crystal Palace and returns to Fulham for an impressive £30m, netting Palace a profit of £15m.
Although he might have recently caused a slight change of mood amongst fans, his passion on the pitch was never in doubt. Andersen appeared in all 38 Premier League games in the 2023/24 season as well as registering the most clearances (229) which resulted in him sharing the Players’ Player of the Season award with Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Jordan Ayew - If there is ever a Palace “streets won’t forget” player, Jordan Ayew is him. After a successful loan from Swansea in 2018/19, he made the move permanent for £2.5m and has all together racked up 212 appearances and 23 goals.
His work rate is simply phenomenal and it was no surprise that in the 2019/20 season he scooped the club's POTS, PPOTS and GOTS awards.
Ayew is currently the highest-scoring Ghanaian in Premier League history and will no doubt add to his tally after completing a move to newly promoted Leicester for £8m, which means that Palace make a £5.5m profit on a 32-year-old. Jordan Ayew has cemented himself in Crystal Palace history, there is absolutely no doubt about that.
Sam Johnstone - The England goalkeeper joined Palace after his contract ended at West Brom and made 34 appearances in his two years at the club. Following an elbow injury which saw him replaced by Dean Henderson until the end of the season, Glasner made it clear that Henderson was to be his number one going forward. Johnstone joined Wolves for £10m, yielding 100% profit. Objectively excellent business by Palace.
Arrivals
Chadi Riad - The young Moroccan centre-back arrived in June from Barcelona for around £14m after a successful loan at La Liga club Real Betis where he made 30 appearances. He quickly impressed Glasner and played in all five pre-season friendlies, as well as starting against West Ham after Andersen’s departure.
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Daichi Kamada - A player who’s very familiar with Glasner’s style of management after playing under him at Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt.
Kamada came to Crystal Palace on a free transfer from Serie A team Lazio. He’s never going to replace Michael Olise on the right-hand side of the pitch but he’s got European experience, a quality that is vital if this club is to be taken to “the next level”.
Kamada is the first-ever Japanese player to play for Palace and is expected to be a nailed-on starter.
Ismaïla Sarr - Freedman has been aching to acquire Sarr’s signature for the past five years and he’s finally got his man. The Senegalese international joins Palace from League 1 team Marseille on a five-year deal for a fee of £12.6m.
He’s a proper winger who often plays on the right, a position that Glasner doesn’t really use so it will be interesting to see where he slots in on the pitch. Sarr’s got stacks of Premier League experience and the fact that he’s signed such a long contract shows that he’s confident he will get minutes.
Maxence Lacroix - Another player that knows Glasner well after playing under him at Wolfsburg, Lacroix joins Palace for £15.2m on a five-year contract. A strong centre-back, he previously made 130 appearances for Wolfsburg and after Riad’s injury against Norwich, there’s a strong case for him to be starting games straight away.
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Eddie Nketiah - Freedman’s also been after Nketiah for a good few years and again, it’s paid off. He signed for the Eagles from Arsenal in a deal worth up to £30 million. He made 168 appearances in North London, scoring 38 goals.
With Edouard out on loan, it’s fair to expect that Nketiah will either be brought on to replace Mateta in the second half of games, or he might even start alongside him with only Eze as an attacking midfielder.
Matt Turner (loan) - This won’t be a signing that excites a lot of people, but it is a necessary one. After Johnstone’s departure and with young keepers Owen Goodman and Joe Whitworth out on loan, Turner was temporarily brought in from Nottingham Forest.
The fact that he’s out on loan only a year after making a £10m move from Arsenal isn’t a ringing endorsement but at the end of the day needs must. He joins Remi Matthews as back up to Henderson.
Trevoh Chalobah (loan) - This looks to be the classic “Chelsea to Palace loan” as the Blues look to offload some of their oversized squad. Chalobah made 80 appearances for Chelsea, scoring eight goals as a centre-back, a position that Glasner obviously still feels like it needs strengthening. There’s no option to buy with this loan agreement so if he performs well, his parent club will be sure to pump up his asking price if Palace want his services permanently.
Out on Loan
Crystal Palace have sent six players out on loan.
Malcolm Ebiowei (Oxford United - Championship) Since arriving at Palace from Derby County in 2022, Ebiowei has been out on loan at Hull and RWD Molenbeek, without making many appearances. He will be hoping that a move to newly promoted Oxford in the Championship will kick-start his career again.
David Ozoh (Derby County - Championship) The young defensive-midfielder is a Palace Academy graduate and has made 13 appearances for the senior side. Since his move to the Rams in August, he has featured in every game, scored a goal and picked up his first MOTM award. Ozoh has a contract with Palace until 2027 and is picking up invaluable experience.
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Joe Whitworth - (Exeter City - League One) The superb penalty stopper is a nailed on starter and has already saved twice from the spot. Whitworth has a contract until 2027 and much like his fellow keeper Owen Goodman, will most likely be sent out on loan again next season.
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi - (Sheffield United - Championship) Palace were keen to make up for last season’s failure to secure a loan move for their brightest academy prospect by ensuring that he could earn valuable experience this time around.
In the 2022/23 season he was excellent at League One side Charlton Athletic where he scored 15 goals and assisted a further eight, which saw him win the Supporter’s Player of the Season. If this loan to Sheffield United goes well, Rak-Sakyi will likely become a part of the Palace squad for the 2025/26 season.
Nairouh Ahamada - (Stade Rennais - Ligue 1) This was more of Patrick Vieira signing than a Freedman signing. The fact that Ahamada hasn’t made many appearances since Vieira’s dismissal shows why the Sporting Director should have the last word. His contract runs out in 2026 but it would not be a surprise to see him depart sooner than this.
Odsonne Edouard - (Leicester City - Premier League) Although capable of producing moments of sporadic quality, Edouard never became the striker that Palace fans wanted him to be. He’s just signed a contract extension until 2026 with the Eagles looking to secure a permanent move away for the Frenchman next summer.
Summary
Crystal Palace have lost one defensive midfielder, two centre-backs, two attacking midfielders, a right-back and a goalkeeper for a total of £103m. They have brought in three centre-backs (one of them on loan), two attacking midfielders, one striker and a goalkeeper (also on loan) for a total of around £69m, making a profit of roughly £34m.
Surely this means we could have brought in even more players I hear you say, perhaps cover for our wing-backs. But don’t forget that Palace spent nearly £30m in the January transfer window last year without selling anyone, therefore the books need to be balanced.
The new main stand also needs to be financed somehow and seeing as John Textor, one of the club’s main financiers in the recent past, is looking to sell his stake, prudency is advisable
There were rumours that Palace were looking to bring back Wilfried Zaha which split opinion amongst the fanbase. The left-winger instead secured a loan move to Lyon, another club that’s part of Textor’s Eagle Football Group, but where he commands full operational control.
All in all this has been a good transfer window for the Eagles, a solid 7/10. The club have backed Glasner and Freedman, with both men getting players that they’re familiar with. Now it’s a case of getting them integrated into the squad and performing on the pitch.