Published: 02:00 BST, 3 September 2026 | Updated: 02:20 BST, 3 September 2026
What was all the panic about? Crystal Palace may have left significant transfer business until after the window had officially closed but they can be content with their summer’s work.
Losing Daniel Munoz and Maxence Lacroix appeared a tricky inheritance for Pierre Sage, who already had the daunting task of succeeding Oliver Glasner, yet Palace – with recruitment led by Matt Hobbs, Iain Moody and chairman Steve Parish – eventually bolstered their squad after a late rush to Tuesday’s 11pm deadline.
Most importantly, Palace have kept Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr, much to the latter’s dismay. The talismanic pair – who scored 37 goals between them last term – both wanted to leave.
Sarr sulked while his agent kicked up a fuss. That was unsurprising, given one source told Daily Mail Sport over breakfast in June that his agent was keen to move him on. Palace remained resolute, though, refusing to sell the attacker with three years remaining on his contract.
Once the window closed, Sarr’s agent had his say, criticising the club for not executing the ‘will of the player’ – a strange comment given Sarr signed a five-year contract without a release clause just two years ago. The club had no obligation to sell him, particularly as he did not submit a transfer request.
But the question remains: how will he return? If Sarr wants to leave in January or next summer, the best way to make that happen is to apply himself and demonstrate why he deserves an upward move rather than continuing to sulk. After all, Palace have Europa League football and fancy their chances of a deep run in the competition.
Crystal Palace have managed to hang onto Ismaila Sarr (right) and Jean-Philippe Mateta
Pierre Sage has the daunting task of succeeding Oliver Glasner as Palace boss
There are no concerns about Mateta’s response. He will do what he did when his move to AC Milan collapsed in January: knuckle down and let the football do the talking once he has recovered from injury.
Holding on to attackers of their class is a triumph and Palace consolidated by adding depth, too. Dario Osorio, signed from Danish club Midtjylland, has plenty of upside as a winger who drifts inside, making him well suited to Sage’s 3-4-2-1 formation. The 22-year-old offers end product, talented ball delivery and averaged a goal or assist every 180 minutes last term.
Dwight McNeil is a curious addition, given he arrived in a straight swap for Brennan Johnson, whom Palace paid £30million for in January. Decision-makers accepted that they had got the Johnson transfer wrong, something a club with Palace's financial constraints cannot afford to do.
The swap did at least remove substantial money from the wage bill. But the Johnson overspend in January limited what Palace could do this summer, with the club finishing the window with a positive net spend as they sought to recoup some of the capital lost on their former record signing.
Evann Guessand has returned on loan following his stint at the club during the second half of last season. Before injury, he was a menace starting from the left and provided adequate back-up to Yeremy Pino.
Zavier Gozo was also signed in attack from Real Salt Lake, with the teenager viewed as one for the future. He came on against Manchester City last week and showed some exuberance. That is the type of business Palace should be doing: signing replacements for players years before their departure, providing them with the chance to learn from established players and adapt to the league before they are asked to fill in for them full time.
Source: Read the original article on www.dailymail.com
Written by https://futureknowledge.in/
