Crystal Palace sign £20m gem and Chelsea defender in blockbuster summer transfer window prediction
Crystal Palace are gearing up for a hectic summer transfer window
Crystal Palace’s impressive Europa Conference League run continued in midweek. Despite losing 2-1 to Fiorentina on the night, the Eagles progressed through to the semi-finals with a 4-2 aggregate scoreline in their favour after winning 3-0 at Selhurst Park iin the first leg. A semi-final against Shakhtar Donetsk awaits, with a place in the final in Leipzig up for grabs.
Meanwhile, back in the Premier League, Palace still have a chance of qualifying for Europe next season without bagging the Conference League to do so. They’re currently down in 13th place, but if they win their precious game in hand they’ll be right in amongst those sides pushing for midweek football on the Continent next season.
With just seven matches of their league campaign left to go, thought is already turning to how the summer could look for the south London side. Manager Oliver Glasner will be leaving, and this seismic change is likely to see a number of players also depart, along with a host of new ones coming in.
Ahead of the transfer window opening again on June 15th, we loaded up Football Manager and had the simulator predict every player Palace will buy and sell this summer:
Crystal Palace summer transfer window predicted - players signed
Tosin Adarabioyo - on loan from Chelsea: After a couple of underwhelming campaigns at Stamford Bridge, the Blues decided to freshen up their options and ship the ex-Fulham centre-back out on loan. Palace, who had Trevoh Chalobah on loan from the Blues last season, decided to take a punt on the 28-year-old. He won’t be the only player to leave Chelsea this summer, that’s for sure.
Alexander Prass - £20m from Hoffenheim: A new manager arrived in the form of Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna, who wasted no time in putting his own stamp on the side. Prass, a versatile central midfielder also capable of playing at left wing-back, became the first permanent signing of the summer. He’s a 24-year-old Austria international renowned for his high octane approach in the middle of the park.
Malcom - free agent signing from Al Hilal: Now, there’s a name we haven’t heard in a while. About a decade ago, he was a wonderkid destined for stardom. He went to Barcelona, flopped, spent four years in Russia, and has been playing in Saudi Arabia ever since. Now 29, the Brazil international tore up his Al Hilal contract and joined Palace as a free agent. He’s naturally a winger, but can play up top too - time will tell whether McKenna will look to play Malcom in the Middle...
James Justin - £17m from Leeds United: Nathaniel Clyne’s contract expired at the end of the season, and Palace swooped straight in for Justin to provide some cover at right-back. The one-cap England international lasted just one season at Elland Road, having previously played for both Luton Town and Leicester City.
Charlie Cresswell - £17m from FC Toulouse: It was new English defenders all round for Palace, as they went back into the market for another one. The ex-England U21 international has been thriving since making the bold decision to leave Leeds for Ligue 1, and will be looking to test his mettle in the Premier League with Palace.
Jesper Lindstrom - £9m from Napoli: Despite already being amply stocked on the right wing, the Eagles swooped for the 18-cap Denmark international. He’s played in the Premier League before, having had a loan spell with Everton last season, and is currently on a temporary spell with Bundesliga outfit VfL Wolfsburg.
Dominik Takac - £1m from Slovian Bratislava: A bit of a bargain to round things off here, as Palace bolstered their goalkeeping department with the 6ft 5’ giant.
Crystal Palace summer transfer window predicted - players out
Chris Richards - £35m to Bayern Munich: Fresh from winning the Champions League, Bayern went on a spending spree of their own, and made a beeline to re-sign the United States international following a series of impressive displays at the World Cup. A tasty profit for Palace on the £10m bought him for originally, at least.
Adam Wharton - £50m to Inter: Ah, we did fear this one was coming. Speculation has been rife over the England international’s future, and it was Serie A giants Inter who won the bidding war. A frustrating one for Eagles fans, even if his exit was inevitable. Looking back at the players signed, you have to question why they bought all those defenders instead of a Wharton replacement.
Daniel Munoz - £60m to Real Sociedad: When it rains, it pours. With two key players already out of the door, Palace lost another in Munoz, who called time on his two-and-a-half year stint at Selhurst Park to pursue a new challenge in the Spanish top tier. Those are some seriously big boots for new signing Justin to fill, that’s for sure.
Will Hughes - £400k to Swansea City: He’s been a seriously handy player to have around over recent seasons, but the 31-year-old decided he wanted to start more games, and opted to take a step down to the Championship to do so. He’ll be looking to help end the Swans’ eight-year absence from the Premier League with a promotion-winning campaign.
Walter Benitez - £7m to Fiorentina: Following Takac’s arrival, Palace made a late window decision to boost their coffers further by selling Benitez to the side they beat in the Conference League quarter-finals. He left having made eight appearances for the Eagles. All in, that’s £74m spent, £152m in for Palace, who now look worryingly weaker than before.