Crystal Palace have had a tumultuous January transfer window.placeholder image
Crystal Palace have had a tumultuous January transfer window. | Getty Images
The January transfer window has seen some dramatic moments - but Crystal Palace have been the biggest losers of all.
The January transfer window has closed for another season and Premier League managers will now have to make do with what they have as they seek to reach their respective goals over the remainder of the campaign.
With over £400m spent by clubs across England’s top flight in the winter window, there were several big-name transfers between Premier League rivals and a suitably substantial supply of drama until the final hours of Deadline Day.
Some sides, such as Manchester City, had a transfer window to be admired across Europe which may aid in their quest for silverware this term. Others, such as the Cityzens’ local rivals Manchester United and notorious big spenders Chelsea, sat tight and did very little at all. Tottenham Hotspur did not do enough, to the dismay of captain Cristian Romero, while London rivals West Ham United splashed out nearly £50m in a rather risky attempt to save their season. Crystal Palace, meanwhile, were at the centre of much of the window’s drama and may have been the biggest losers of all...
Exit turmoil and transfer desperation plague Eagles’ January
There is rather a lot to unpick from Crystal Palace’s January transfer window. Amidst turmoil both on and off the pitch, Palace lost one key figure at the club, while two others publicly declared their desire to depart. By Deadline Day on Monday, there was a sense of desperation in the Eagles’ last-gasp transfer dealings.
To deal with what they have lost first of all – probably still the biggest headline of Palace’s window, arguably now somewhat lost under all the noise, is the fact that they sold their club captain in Marc Guéhi. Owner Steve Parish and the club hierarchy evidently decided that to obtain a £20m fee from Manchester City for their skipper mid-season was a better outcome than to lose him for nothing at the end of it. While the business sense is certainly there, his presence will be missed massively on the pitch and there has been no sort of replacement brought in.
The devastating blows did not stop there, either. In the very same press conference where Guéhi’s impending exit was announced, manager Oliver Glasner declared that he will be leaving the club at the end of the campaign. In what felt like the Austrian throwing his toys out of the pram because of the Eagles’ place within the Premier League food chain, Glasner not only cast doubt upon Palace’s January transfer window, but on their season.
Not to mention the impact this may have had on the saga involving Jean-Philippe Mateta, who informed the club he wanted to leave on January 21. While bids from the likes of Nottingham Forest arrived, the Frenchman had his heart set on a move to one of Italian giants AC Milan or Juventus.
With the latter stalling over a move, Mateta packed his bags and underwent a Deadline Day medical with Milan – only to fail his medical and return to Palace with his tail between his legs after the Serie A side pulled out of the deal. Mateta may still be a Crystal Palace player, granted, but from where we are sat this does not look like a win. It is difficult to see where the 28-year-old and his Eagles career go from here.
Will Crystal Palace’s £83m outlay pay off?
It is not often that a Premier League club spends £83m in January and are still viewed as the losers of the window. But whether Crystal Palace have got value out of that extensive outlay is highly questionable.
Their first port of call in January, splashing £35m to prise Brennan Johnson from Tottenham Hotspur, might age as a fairly sound piece of business. The 24-year-old was out of favour under Thomas Frank despite being the club’s top scorer with 18 goals in all competitions last season, even scoring the winner in the Europa League final.
Johnson is certainly good enough to improve Palace and make the difference both in the Premier League and the Conference League, but one can only imagine how he felt after hearing that the club’s captain, manager and star striker were all seeking to head out of the exit door in quick succession, so soon after his arrival. Fairly let down, it would be fair to assume.
Then we reached the dreaded Deadline Day, and what will become a defining transfer in the shape of Jørgen Strand Larsen. To spend a huge £48m on a player with just one Premier League goal this season was just about as risky a purchase as they come.
The Norwegian had his head turned by transfer interest last summer and has not been the same player since, with his 14 league goals at Wolves last term now a distant memory. He has been signed for his potential to deliver, but amidst the turmoil currently going on at Selhurst Park, are there any guarantees he can even come close to recreating his spring purple patch at Molineux?
Strand Larsen was the headliner, but Palace were not done there. They secured the signing of Aston Villa forward Evann Guessand on loan over the weekend, bringing in a player who had struggled for game time at Villa Park and may not get much more at Palace. Somewhat of a head-scratcher, when what they really needed was a centre-back.
The drama at Selhurst Park continued even beyond the 7pm transfer deadline, as the south London club failed to complete paperwork in time to sign Everton’s Dwight McNeil for £20m despite a full agreement being reached and a deal sheet submitted. McNeil’s girlfriend accused Palace of ‘ghosting’ the winger in posts to social media, as reported by The Telegraph, while it is difficult to tell whether the Eagles got cold feet or simply could not submit the paperwork in time amidst all the chaos. Either way, it was not a good look.
Not often does a Premier League club experience the level of January drama Crystal Palace have had over the last month. Amidst it all, they sit 15th in the Premier League and are nervously looking over their shoulders. Eagles fans would not be blamed for fearing the worst.
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