Crystal Palace Summer Transfer Window 2024/25 Review
Crystal Palace v Chelsea (Credit: Sebastian Frej/MB Media)
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Had Ebere Eze not put his strike into the top corner away at Stamford Bridge last weekend things may have looked gloomy in Crystal Palace's camp after defeats to both Brentford and West Ham.

The England international did in fact score, which meant the Eagles got their first point on the board for the new season, and with a home game against Leicester City when club football returns, things might start to be looking up again for Palace. 

In the game against Chelsea there were some unfamiliar names on the Palace bench with four outfield academy players included in the squad.

Jefferson Lerma was sidelined with a toe injury he sustained last week, and new signing Chadi Riad missed out due to a knee injury suffered during the 4-0 victory over Norwich City in Tuesday's Carabao Cup match.

Since Palace had left their business till late in to the window they were unable to name their new signings in the squad as they missed the cut off point on Friday.

Oliver Glasner's side signed four new faces on deadline day, which were definitely needed, but frustratingly for Palace and their manager, not done sooner. 

  • Was it a successful transfer window?

When judging Palace's transfer window there is a lot you need to consider and that is not just the ins and outs, it is the players they have managed to keep, who they may have signed but were smart to stay clear from, and the position the squad is in now. 

The summer started on a positive note for the Eagles as Sporting Director Dougie Freedman signed a new contract with the club after being heavily linked to Newcastle United as the man to replace Dan Ashworth.

This was a massive boost for all in South London as Freedman has been the leading figure in the change of model at Palace where they look to sign younger talent, often from the Championship, to then sell on for a much greater fee later down the line. 

The prime example of this model being in effect is the departure of Michael Olise to Bayern Munich. Palace thought they had seen off interest in their star man after reports said the Frenchman rejected Chelsea, but the lure of the 32-time Bundesliga champions and Champions League football was too much for Olise to say no to.

This would have disappointed many at Palace, although it was expected considering the quality Olise possesses. After triggering a release clause in his Reading contract back in 2021 for £8million there can not be too many complaints from Palace's end at making significant profit with Olise departing for his £50 million release clause , but given how good the Frenchman is many will be thinking it could have been so much more. 

Losing Olise hurt, but there was no time to dwell, so Palace were prepared and made a shrewd move for Daichi Kamada who signed as a free agent after his contract expired at Lazio.

Kamada had previously worked under Glasner when at Eintracht Frankfurt, and was somebody the manager wanted to bring in. Palace knew they weren't going to be able to replace Olise like-for-like, so instead they opted to bring players in who could offer different qualities, and together would contribute for what the Frenchman would have offered.

The addition of Ismaila Sarr from Olympique Marseille for £12.5 million is another piece to this, as he offers something very different to Kamada with his pace and directness. 

They also brought in centre back Chadi Riad for £15 million, who is seen more as one for the future and someone who would learn from the players ahead of him, eventually being able to step in and become a regular once Palace sold another defender.

This happened a lot earlier than expected as Palace sold Joachim Andersen to Fulham for £30 million. His departure frightened many as Newcastle seemed to be stepping up their pursuit of Marc Guehi, and losing both starting centre-backs from last season would be unthinkable. 

Chadi then injured his MCL in the cup game with Norwich and the thought of Guehi leaving seemed near impossible, this then prompted Palace to bring in Maxence Lacroix from VfL Wolfsburg for £15 million and Trevoh Chalobah on a season-long loan from Chelsea.

The best bit of business was keeping Guehi, although this means he will be entering the last year of his contract next summer if Palace are unable to the England international to sign a new contract, and as a result Palace are unlikely to be able to request the £70 million touted this summer. 

There was also the sale of cult hero Jordan Ayew to Leicester for £8 million, which is seen as great business as they signed the Ghanaian for just £2.5 million six years ago. Sam Johnstone also left for  Wolverhampton Wanderers in a deal worth £10 million. To replace Johnstone, Palace then made a move for Nottingham Forest’s Matt Turner, who came in on a season-long loan. 

Attacking reinforcements were needed, and given who Palace had lost this summer the position many thought they would fill was the right sided 10. They had looked all summer for this player with the club liking the look of Emile Smith Rowe before his move to Fulham, along with Antonio Nusa from Club Brugge but like Smith Rowe his injury record was a concern.

Instead, they opted for Eddie Nketiah from Arsenal for an initial £25 million and in turn Odsonne Edouard joined Ayew at Leicester on loan. 

Nketiah has been someone Palace have looked at for a while, they made an approach back in 2021 and also 2022 when his contract was running down, but he eventually signed a new deal with Arsenal and the move never happened. 

Fast forward to this summer after the deal Arsenal made with Nottingham Forrest collapsed, Palace made their move for the England international and strengthened their striking options. 

With everything considered the window was not too bad, and if you had to rate it you would say it would score around 7/10, but there are glaring areas which have not yet been resolved.

There is a lack of left wing-back cover for Tyrick Mitchell and another right sided 'ten' may still be required to fill the void left by Olise and Ayew.

Glasner may be able to change his system now to use both Jean Philippe-Mateta and Nketiah as a pair with Eze just behind, whether that happens or not remains to be seen. 

The full list of ins and outs:

IN:

OUT:

Without the point at Stamford Bridge it could have been three defeats from three heading into the international break for Palace which would have made these two weeks much longer.

The draw gives them the benchmark however, they now have something on the board and will be able to build on this going forward. 

With their next game not until September 14th, they have little under two weeks to prepare, and for the new signings it gives them time to bed in to new surroundings and understand what the manager wants from them. 

It also allows certain players to get much needed rest and recovery, Mateta for example has come straight off the Olympics without a break and will be afforded some time off.

Matheus Franca is still recovering from a rib injury so this time off gives him more time to come back into contention. 

Adam Wharton was called up for the England U21's for their two games over the break but has since withdrawn with a groin injury that is said to have been bugging him since the start of the season.

Glasner had already warned England about being careful with the 20 year-old as he has not been able to complete every training session since arriving back from Euro 2024 this summer. Monitoring his minutes from this point on will be important and he may be another player who takes a a couple more days off over the two weeks.  

Once Glasner welcomes back his international players, with fingers crossed they all come back fit, along with the new signings, the team looks to be in good shape and will be competitive. 

  • What is their strongest XI?

Henderson; Munoz, Chalobah, Guehi, Lacroix, Mitchell; Wharton, Doucoure; Kamada, Eze; Nketiah

On paper this would be Palace's strongest team and to think there are some big players missing. There is no space for Chris Richards, Jefferson Lerma, Will Hughes and Mateta who were all regular starters during the previous campaign. Along with new signing Sarr, the strength in depth Palace now have is as strong as its ever been, something they have been needing for a long time. 

  • How will Glasner feel?

When being interviewed for the job back in February, Oliver Glasner came with a plan of how Palace would play with and without Olise as everyone knew it would be hard to keep hold of him for a fourth consecutive season.

Losing the talented Frenchman was therefore not a surprise, and Glasner has been able to somewhat replace him with a player of his choosing in Kamada and a player who Freedman has liked for a while in Sarr. 

Palace have also improved at centre-back with three additions to replace two outgoings. The incomings provide more quality for Palace and most certainly provide more depth. 

Overall, the manager will be satisfied with his squad. Palace have recruited a couple of players that the manager desired to bring in, along with some the club have had an eye on for.

Like any manager he would have liked one or two more but the squad Palace has assembled is more than good enough to compete to finish top-half and maybe just maybe, push for Europe if things go their way.