Crystal Palace: Early transfer drive boosts Oliver Glasner revolution with more signings to come

Crystal Palace are wasting no time in an ambitious summer recruitment drive to continue the Oliver Glasner revolution at Selhurst Park.

The Eagles have been one of the big early movers in the transfer market and are closing in on deals to sign Morocco centre-back Chadi Riad and Japan midfielder Daichi Kamada.

Riad is joining in a £14million move from Barcelona after an impressive season on loan at Real Betis, while Kamada has agreed to join on a free transfer from Lazio.

Both deals are being wrapped up, and Palace are also among the clubs interested in Jude Bellingham’s younger brother, Jobe.

It is hard to remember a time when there was greater excitement among Palace fans, and their early transfer moves have added to the sense of optimism about what could be achieved under Austrian Glasner.

Palace ended the season with six wins and a draw from their final seven games, and there is even talk among supporters about a potential European challenge next season.

Sporting director Dougie Freedman is leading the recruitment drive, and his decision to snub interest from Newcastle is a major boost. Freedman has a good transfer record and is held in high esteem across the Premier League, so it is perhaps no surprise that the Eagles are ahead of the curve.

Glasner, Freedman and chairman Steve Parish were in regular dialogue throughout the second half of last season, discussing positions in the squad in need of strengthening.

Palace hope to nail their summer window just like they did in January. The £29.4m they spent on Adam Wharton and Daniel Munoz was the most of any team in the Premier League in the winter window, but still represented remarkable value for money.

Freedman was in attendance when Wharton made his first Championship start, in August 2022, and the 20-year-old has taken brilliantly to life at Palace and is now pushing to make England’s final 26-man squad for Euro 2024.

Munoz, a relative risk when he joined from Genk, was arguably the best wing-back in the Premier League in the second half of the season, and signing Jefferson Lerma for free last summer has also paid off.

Securing Kamada, 27, on a free is another major coup, given AC Milan, Napoli and Roma were all in for him last summer before Lazio signed him from Eintracht Frankfurt, where he worked with Glasner and was a key part of their team that won the 2022 Europa League.

The move for 20-year-old Riad also makes sense, with the future of Marc Guehi unclear and Palace in need of centre-backs, given Glasner favours a back-three. Valencia’s Cristhian Mosquera, 19,and others were considered before settling on Riad.

But they know their strong end to the season did not go unnoticed by rival clubs, and a number of key players are admired across Europe, including Guehi, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise. Jean-Philippe Mateta is also attracting interest.

Rumours of a conversation about the availability of Eze, Olise and Guehi circulated this week when Freedman was seen leaving a private members’ club in Mayfair with Sir Alex Ferguson.

The uncertainty of not knowing which of the trio will still be at Selhurst Park next season partly explains Palace’s early initiative.

Signings often cost more towards the end of a window, so swift moves for Riad and Kamada look shrewd. Fans can expect more incomings, too.

Palace could do with at least one more centre-back and have considered moving for full-back Ben Johnson, who is in talks over a new deal at West Ham. They also admire Marseille’s versatile attacker Iliman Ndiaye.