Crystal Palace were the in-form side at the end of last season, picking up six wins from an unbeaten final seven games. Manager Oliver Glasner has impressed with his management style and galvanised Palace when they most needed it. It had started to become toxic in the stands under Roy Hodgson before he was dismissed, with morale low.
Advertisement There is real hope and excitement about this season, though. A relatively quiet transfer window so far has barely dampened the mood. Here’s The Athletic’s Palace season preview.
The summer and pre-season have been...
Interesting...
Everything began well with the signings of Chadi Riad at around £15million ($19.1m) from Real Betis and Daichi Kamada on a free transfer after his contract with Lazio expired. But that in turn may have raised expectations of something more, which hasn’t really arrived.
Michael Olise departing for Bayern Munich made things a bit more challenging, but an unbeaten pre-season campaign showed some signs of promise, even if very little can be read into those results. Then Ismaila Sarr was signed for a fee of €15million (£12.6m; $16.
3m) on a five-year contract from Marseille towards the end of pre-season. But there is anxiety and uncertainty about the interest in so many of Palace’s players, even if Olise is the only notable departure to date. Are they in a better place than they were when last season finished? Not really.
The loss of Michael Olise to Bayern Munich, while slightly cushioned by the £.