**Crystal Palace are once more returning to the English Football League system to uncover hidden gems in a bid to avoid relegation. This time the South London club are considering purchasing League Two side Chesterfield FC’s winger James Berry-McNally.**
Since Dougie Freedman was appointed as Palace’s Sporting Director in 2017, he has raided the lower leagues to find key players such as Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, and Adam Wharton. Despite these successes, Freedman’s side find themselves hovering around the relegation zone in the Premier League after losing both Olise and Joachim Andersen this summer. Might the answer to their struggles be in found in Chesterfield’s young [star](https://thehardtackle.com/transfer-news/2024/12/02/crystal-palace-keen-on-james-berry-mcnally/)?
### Who is James Berry-McNally?
James Berry-McNally is a winger who was educated at the academies of clubs like Liverpool and Wigan Athletic. He transferred from Wigan to Hull City in 2019, where he made his senior debut in a 3-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers.
After being released, he found himself in the non-league tiers of the English football pyramid at Macclesfield FC, the phoenix club of former professional side Macclesfield Town. Here he scored 42 league goals in 67 appearances which caught the eye of Chesterfield, then in the National League.
Last season, the young Englishman helped The Spirerites to capture the National League title and win promotion to League Two where he has since scored seven goals and created two assists in 16 league games this season.
He mostly plays down the left for Chesterfield, often linking up well with loanee central attacking midfielder Dilan Markanday to create dangerous overloads down the wing. He has a good level of technical and physical attributes for a player in League Two so it’s unsurprising that he’s caught the eye of clubs from higher up the pyramid despite a reported valuation of £5m.
### Why might Crystal Palace need him?
So far this season, the Eagles’ attacking options of Jean-Philippe Mateta, Eberechi Eze, Ismaila Sarr, and Eddie Nketiah have combined for five goals in the Premier League. This lack of production from their forwards must be considered as one of the main reasons why Palace have languished near the bottom of the table this season.
It will come as no surprise that Freeman will want to provide manager Oliver Glasner with another attacking option to help find the goals that will be required to stay clear of relegation. Having finished strongly last year to end in the top half, the club’s fans and stakeholders would not have been expecting such a poor start to the season.
However, if Palace do purchase Berry-McNally, expectations for the young winger should be tempered. It would be a massive step up for any player to move from League Two to the Premier League. As such, it remains to be seen if such a move would be with an eye to the future rather than for immediate success.
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