The Next Chapter...

   

To say this last calendar year has not been a monumental leap for Crystal Palace Football club would be daft. The monumental effort to replace 13 senior players, a manager, coaching staff and more was impressive, but to change the identity of our football club and playing style whilst doing all of this was nothing short of miraculous. The events of last summer have left Palace in a very desirable place to be in at current, with a cluster of promising talent breaking through the ranks and leaving their mark on the team. The recruitment of  Michael Olise, Joachim Andersen and Marc Guehi specifically, helped transform the playing style on the pitch, resulting in a more sustainable and thrilling spectacle for the fans to watch. Hugely helped by the efforts of loanee Conor Gallagher, and the full breakthrough of Tyrick Mitchell, these core players have allowed our new gaffer Patrick Vieira to impose his fresh and relatively untested philosophy onto his young team. Although the results of Vieira's first season at Selhurst Park were hugely positive, I will delve into what the club's transfer strategy has been, and how we'll attack the upcoming season.

The summer transfer window is slowly approaching the deadline, with just under a month until the window slams shut. Several key targets have already been captured by Steve Parish and Dougie Freedman, who have been hard at work to strengthen Vieira's side. The first of which is ex-England international Sam Johnstone, agreeing a 4-year deal with the eagles. This shot stopper impressed during his last Premier League spell, topping the most saves in the division with 166 stops, 20 more than Aaron Ramsdale in second place. His form in the championship has not been anything to rave about, however I feel this is a slight upgrade on what we have in the goalkeeping ranks already. The 29 year old is 6 years the junior of Vicente Guaita, and in my view will be a close competitor to Jack Butland. My view at the start of the window was that we would be expecting at least 1 outgoing in the goalkeeping ranks but after Butland sustained a hand injury in our pre-season game against Manchester United which ruled him out of possible move away from the club, we will likely see the 3 senior keepers fighting to start between the sticks. Once Johnstone has returned from his minor injury, I imagine PV will be eager to put the 29 year old to the test. A return to Spain for Guatia has always been on the cards and the arrival of Johnstone could result in this being the Spaniards last season for the eagles. 

Chris Richards has been the newest arrival at SE25 and looks to be a good pick up for a relatively substantial fee of £15 million. It seems as though Richards has been brought in to act as cover for both Guehi and Anderson at CB. However, it has also been speculated that Richards may be the preferred option for the right-back spot, or the third centre back in a back 3. I believe this may be too much for the young American to take on during his first season in England. I for one, feel we may have been quite lucky with our injury record in that position last season, something we cannot leave to chance next year.  With Andersen playing 34 Premier league games in the last campaign and Guehi playing 2 more, it may be slightly optimistic to suggest the pairing will continue replicate their amount of minutes in the upcoming season. I feel Richards will feature regularly, with his versatility across the back line being called upon to cover injuries, and to step in with the addition of the 5 substitutions rule this year. However, the 8 capped U.S defender will surely be looking to prove to Vieira he is more than just an understudy for both Guehi and Anderson. With all the physical attributes and ability to make it at the highest level, Chris Richards could prove to be an excellent bit of business by the club.

The club currently finds itself in a unique situation, with 4 right-backs on the books, and none seemingly have made the vacant slot their own. Rumours are refusing to die down on a potential homecoming for Aaron Wan-Bissaka. This is a move that divides fans at the moment, with the large majority eager to see the defender back the red and blue. Any deal to see a return for the 24 year old would surely be a loan-to-buy deal as Man United will not find a queue of suitors lining up to pay £30million. My issue with the deal is that on several occasions last season, we could see Vieira tinkering with the 5 at the back formation, with this, Mitchell and Clyne were played high, with Joel Ward trying to replicate this in the FA cup semi-final. If this is the plan for the Frenchman going into the 22/23 season I do not think AWB would be a sensible target. One of the major reasons AWB had fallen out of favour during his time at the Red Devils was his lack of ability to carry the ball forwards with precision passing and the high level of crossing that will be required. If however, Vieira intends to keep a 4 back formation, I do not feel there is a better defensive right back in the game that we could attract to Selhurst Park. It will be one to watch out for, but I feel any deal to make a return to Palace possible will depend on how Vieira wants to line up next season, and will likely go down to the wire. The newest name to have been thrown onto the transfer mill is that of Levi Colwill. Colwill (Chelsea F.C player) impressed heavily during his loan spell in the championship with Huddersfield last season, likely impressing the Palace scouts who make the league their primary base. Colwill has proved to be an excellent young centre back with pace and precision passing, something that certainly fits the bill when considering Palace’s recent recruitment. Colwill could look to press for more minutes next season, but with the recent departure of several key defensive assets, it looks unlikely Thomas Tuchel will sign off on any further departures in that area. A deal could almost certainly be struck with Chelsea for the youngster, but it may be too complex and expensive for Dougie and Steve to pull off. Further to this, the recent arrival of Chris Richards and talks of the youngster being offered to Brighton in exchange for Cucurella means there is only a slim chance of the centre-back linking up with former team mate Marc Guehi.

I feel the midfield is worthy of its own paragraph, mainly down to its critical role in last years achievements and next seasons success (if there is to be any). The success of Conor Gallagher in the midfield role last year was something to behold. Whilst a small group of fans have grown bitter towards his likely decision to stay at Chelsea and fight for his place, his impact on the team last year cannot be understated. His goal involvements may have sobered up heading into the new year, but his unparalleled ability to press the opposition for the entire duration of the 90 minutes gave Palace the opportunity to hit the top teams in the league hard on multiple occasions. His dog like work rate complimented the attributes of Jimmy Mac, Jeff Schlupp and Will Hughes very well and often encouraged pressing from the frontline. I came to terms with the fact we would likely be heading into the 22/23 season without the England midfielder, but realised the club would have to really bolster the engine room if we were to outdo the efforts of last year. The first midfield target looks to have always been Cheick Doucoure. The RC Lens midfielder has attracted a keen audience amongst top flight clubs across Europe, topping the stats in key areas for his pressing, defensive and progressive abilities. You wouldn’t be wrong to say he looks the complete package as far as midfielders go. The Mali international signed a five-year deal with us on the 11th of July and I believe Doucoure will plug the gap left by the Chelsea loanee better than most. The midfielder was also said to be Vieira’s main target for this window, which will surely please the Frenchman. Noises around the club suggest we are still in for a major midfield target. If reports are to be believed, Vieira is also a strong admirer of Wolves midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White. The attacking midfielder impressed heavily during his loan spell at Sheffield United last season, netting 12 times and registering 10 assists in 37 matches. The 22 year will definitely have an England call up on his mind, and whist achieving a call up to the senior squad in time for the world cup seems highly unlikely, first team football in a young attacking side like Palace will surely be a giant leap in his career progression. Although, with such a high-profile deal will come a high-profile price. Palace are looking to strike a deal around the £20 million mark, however, Wolves are holding out for a fee closer to £30 million. I amongst a handful of Palace fans have questioned what this will mean for Ebere Eze's season, as MGW possess many of the desired attributes as our current number 10. Speed dribbling, accurate long passing, power and pace topped off with tidy finishing will almost certainly see MGW and Eze battling it out for that midfield spot. Vieira has made many comments about Eze's role being different to that of previous seasons and if rumours concerning our interest in Gibbs-White are accurate, surely it will mean a deeper role for Eze with MGW looking to be the main attacking threat from that position. I do believe that MGW would be a fantastic signing under different circumstances, but with the deal likely to be in the region of £30 million, it would make the 22 year old our second most expensive signing ever, money I cannot justify us spending on a still relatively unproven prospect. Either way, if Palace do have any spare funds this summer, it is imperative that it goes into the midfield area, as that is where the room for improvement was in the last campaign.

Moving into the attack, I do not feel there will be much to report on this summer. With 18 year old prospect Malcom Ebiowei joining up with the senior squad after his transfer from Derby, that may be all of the attacking reinforcements provided to Vieira going into the next campaign. Whilst it felt the Derby attacker was almost nailed on to go straight out on loan, comments made by Steve Parish on the club website suggest that the youngster may have a role to play in the Premier League next season. Going into the next season as it stands, Vieira will have Zaha, Mateta, Olise, Edouard, Eze, Ebiowei, Plange, Benteke, Rak Sakyi at his disposal. It would be unfair to suggest that the youngsters in the group will feature heavily for Palace next season as I still feel some, more than others, still have some ways to go before they are Premier League ready. Palace will likely be accepting late loan offers for the likes of Ray Sakyi and potentially even Luke Plange. The most likely scenario in which we would consider an attacking purchase would be if Christian Benteke decides to leave the club. Mateta and Edouard's battle to start at striker will be highly competitive, the creativity of Eze and Olise will almost certainly see a bundle of chances falling to the two French strikers and Zaha could even look to break his Premier League goal tally with the flurry of chances created. As Palace fans, we seem to say the same thing every year when it comes to our talisman, however, this year really will be the single most important season of his life. Fast forwarding to the end of the 2023 campaign we may well have seen the Ivorian play his last game in a Crystal Palace shirt. Whatever happens this season, the 29 year old will be looking to earn himself either a new club, or a lucrative new deal which would see him stay at Palace for the rest of his career. This will have crossed the minds of the Palace hierarchy who will either look to seal the signature of their top goalscorer or ready the cash for what can only be an expensive replacement. Their decision will certainly need to have been made by January, as clubs will start to circle for the Ivorian's signature on a pre-contract agreement.

Overall, I feel the key to next season is to establish a more free flowing relationship between the midfield and defence. This will help speed up what we have already started to do last season with the back 4 shifting the ball from side to side to wait for a clear opening. Doucoure will no doubt be the man to drop deep , receive the ball and be able to turn and unlock channels that we perhaps wouldn't have been able to find last season. . Doucoure’s pressing abilities will limit whatever critical damage the departure of Conor Gallagher will have caused us, and the Mali international could be on for a special debut season in the PL if his product on the pitch is as good as people say. A new right back would be ideal, one who is composed, an excellent passer and shows determination to burst forward and create width either in a 4 or 5 at the back scenario. Besides a signing of perhaps another midfielder I suspect that would be Dougie and Steve’s window all but dusted. That is not to say a bargain will not present itself or offers come in for some players we cannot ignore. With the squad now a healthy breeding ground for top tier talent, the performances of the likes of Eze, Olise, Guehi and Mitchell have surely put them in the line of fire of some of Europe's elite clubs, a late offer for Eze would not surprise me, however, this will have to be a substantial fee at this stage of the window for us to part ways with the midfielder.

I amongst many others, am very excited for the next season, with a season under his belt, Vieira will have the experience with his squad, the league and all of the challenges that come with it. Providing he is given the tools he needs in this window, I expect Palace to speed up and improve the football we started to play last season. This should lead to more wins and a better points tally come the end of the season. Top half has been and will be the aim going into next season,

Written by @Curt_CPFC