What can we expect from Crystal Palace this season?
A historic 2024/25 campaign saw Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace end the season with their highest-ever points tally in the Premier League and their first major trophy in the shape of the iconic FA Cup.
Here, we take a look back at the Eagles’ recent campaign, how things are shaping up ahead of the new season, and what we can expect from them.
A season to go down in history
The end-of-season success marked a stark contrast to the early-season struggles, which had seen Palace drop into the relegation zone after a barren run of form, having failed to win in their first eight league fixtures and recorded just one victory after 13 league games.
With rumours suggesting that Glasner’s job was on the line, and the skies greying over Selhurst Park, Palace entered the Christmas period short on both points and confidence.
However, the prospect of relegation soon became a distant memory, with Glasner leading Palace to the League Cup quarter-finals and stabilising the league performances. The Eagles began to thrive during the New Year period, soaring up the league table and cruising through the early stages of the FA Cup to emerge as one of the in-form sides in the country.
As the season drew to a close, Palace sat comfortably mid-table and set their sights on winning their first-ever major trophy after rampantly marching into the FA Cup final.
And, after showing resilience, bravery, teamwork, and defensive solidity, a slick team goal finished exquisitely by talisman Eberechi Eze earned Palace a 1–0 victory over Manchester City and their first-ever major trophy.
Fear of falling apart
As a result of their success last season, major clubs from across Europe are circling Selhurst Park this summer, looking to poach some of their finest talents.
Will Hughes, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guéhi, and Dean Henderson all had a stellar season, but there was one man who trumped them all on an individual level — Daniel Muñoz.
The 29-year-old Colombian fullback was relentless down the right flank for Palace, with his surging runs from deep often making him the most advanced attacker. Thanks to his forward prowess, Muñoz produced 14 goal contributions across all competitions last season.
However, in a recent interview back home, Muñoz expressed his desire to join a bigger club as early as this season if the opportunity arises, despite signing a new deal with Palace in April.
Talisman Eberechi Eze has also been subject to a high-profile move, with Arsenal in particular trying to persuade the Eagles into accepting a fee under £50 million, while Glasner and the Palace hierarchy remain adamant on his £68m release clause.
Apart from Arsenal, defending Premier League champions Liverpool are also planning a double swoop on two of Palace’s most prized assets. With just one year remaining on his contract, the Reds want Marc Guéhi at £40 million, while Mateta is valued at £50 million.
Although Palace are willing to part ways with Guéhi, they’re looking for much more than just the £40 million on offer, while in Mateta’s case there are other clubs like Manchester United who could help push the price up.
Young midfielder Adam Wharton, meanwhile, has also attracted interest from the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, and Real Madrid in recent months. Talks over a move for him could advance quickly if the interested parties manage to agree personal terms first.
Recruitment plans and strategies
However, the message coming out of Selhurst Park remains clear: Palace would prefer keeping hold of as many of their stars as possible and build on their 2024/25 success.
In that regard, Palace have already started their squad-building process by making a couple of shrewd signings early into the off-season, having brought in Argentine keeper Walter Benítez from PSV and Croatian left-fullback Borna Sosa from Ajax.
With captain Marc Guéhi having only a year left on his contract and being linked with Liverpool, Palace are already exploring their options, reportedly considering signing Fikayo Tomori as a replacement.
Having impressed at AC Milan, Tomori has been attracting interest from Premier League clubs. For Glasner’s side, he could not only replace Guéhi as a leader, but also bring European experience to their defence.
However, according to The Guardian, Palace are also in talks with Portuguese champions Sporting over a potential £45m deal for the promising young centre-back Ousmane Diomande.
Palace are also looking to address their midfield, though acquiring their targets may prove difficult in the current market. Italian outlet Tuttosport believes Palace are in the running alongside Man United for the signature of Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, who has a £9m relegation release clause.
The Eagles are also looking at Middlesbrough star Hayden Hackney but face competition from Everton, West Ham, Brentford, Porto, Stuttgart, and Bayer Leverkusen, making this a long shot.
Another young player that is admired at Selhurst Park is Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos. However, they are yet to submit a formal bid, with reports suggesting that the Blues’ boss, Enzo Maresca, would like to keep hold of the 21-year-old Brazilian.
Ultimately, how much Palace can spend and who they can attract will depend entirely on which UEFA competition they participate in.
UEFA’s harsh ruling hampering Palace’s preparations
Crystal Palace have been stripped of their place in next season’s UEFA Europa League, with the European football–governing body having deemed them in violation of its multi-club ownership rules and demoting them to the third tier, UEFA Europa Conference League; Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, have been promoted in their stead.
According to UEFA, Palace breached Article 5.01 of its Club Competition Regulations, which prevents a single person or entity from having an interest in multiple clubs competing in the same competition.
Eagle Football Holdings, which is owned by American businessman John Textor, had stakes in Crystal Palace (43%) and French side Olympique Lyonnais (77%) last season, and both teams qualified for the Europa League. Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 to qualify, while Palace won the FA Cup to gain their spot, but they ran afoul of UEFA’s legislation on teams from the same ownership group competing in the same competition.
Textor has since negotiated a £190m sale for his Crystal Palace stakes with Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets of the National Football League and former US ambassador to the UK, who is now undergoing the league’s ownership test to verify his suitability for governance. However, as Textor failed to fully enact his Palace divestment by a deadline in May, which was set before the Eagles earned their Europa League qualification, UEFA’s judgement fell against the English side.
UEFA’s ruling arrives on the back of Lyon having their administrative relegation to Ligue 2 overturned by France’s financial monitoring body DNCG (Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion) last week post appeal. The DNCG had provisionally relegated Lyon last November and gave them until July to improve their debt situation, which came to €505.1 million last October. The relegation would have seen Lyon withdraw from the 2025/26 Europa League due to the costs associated with competing in the tournament, thus allowing Crystal Palace to compete. However, a combination of player sales, early payments from indebted parties (including Paris Saint-Germain), and the sale of other parts of the Eagle Football Holdings business enabled the club to demonstrate to the DNCG that their financial position had been sufficiently improved.
Lyon took precedence over Palace in terms of which team got to remain in the Europa League on the account of their higher placement in Ligue 1 compared to Palace’s 12th-place finish in the Premier League. UEFA has stated Palace have the option to appeal the decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
A similar situation previously arose with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, who placed his shares in a blind trust before UEFA’s March 1 deadline to ensure Forest would be able to join Olympiacos, another one of his clubs, in the UEFA Champions League had they qualified, which looked likely for most of the season before they signed off with a seventh-place finish.
What to expect from Palace in 2025/26?
Palace have spent more than £150 million over the last two summers, though they recuperated two-thirds of that last summer. However, with the club set to play in Europe for the first time in their history, and with some of their star players leaving on potentially huge deals, they’ll have enough money in hand to build a good enough squad to tackle both the Premier League and Europe — if they get their signings right.
Oliver Glasner has shown in his first full season that — despite the initial jitters — he can get his team to play both attractive football and hold their own against the bigger sides. Thus, the only question that remains is: how many of his key players can he keep a hold of?
Palace’s objective next season will be simple: match or better last season’s Premier League points tally and hope to go on another cup run. Moreover, getting demoted to the Conference League may turn out to be a blessing in disguise and give them a better chance of winning a European trophy.
