Crystal Palace’s summer transfer window: A review

Crystal palace, the 10^th biggest net spenders in the premier league, brought in four major signings over the summer window and parted with one notable player who we all know and love – Glenn Murray. In terms of signings, Palace’s signings this summer centred around three words beginning with ‘C’: Continuity, Cabaye & cover.

Continuity has been central to the recruitment drive at Palace this summer and this was signalled very early on by the Palace hierarchy. South London boy Jason Puncheon and stalwart Damien Delaney penned new deals in mid-may which will keep them at the club until 2019 and 2016 respectively. Much of the outgoing transfer speculation centred on Scott Dann, a 2014 acquisition from Blackburn, but the board and manager again demonstrated their drive for continuity by convincing Dann to sign a new 5 year deal and in doing so, keeping the core of the team that has received widespread acclaim, together.

This summer transfer period has seen the huge ‘coup’ of Yohan Cabaye moving to SE25 in a reported £12.8 million transfer from PSG. This, while exciting for the obvious reason of Cabaye being a fantastic player, has as much as anything proved to everybody at the club exactly how far the club it’s come. It continues to amaze me that is was just 5 short years ago that Crystal Palace were faced with extinction, before CPFC2010 stepped in and saved the day. Yohan Cabaye is a fantastic player and just goes to remind everyone involved in the club where we have reached and a look at the not-too-distant past reminds us all where we came from.

While Cabaye was seen as a statement of intent and was received well by all, Connor Wickham certainly represents something quite different. It’s true to say that often last season Palace’s attacks lacked quality finishing from the lone striker and goals were often sourced through the ‘maverick’ behaviour of the trio of Puncheon, Zaha & Bolasie - Connor Wickham is supposed to be the answer. However, Wickham’s enviable record of last season accruing more yellow cards (8) than goals (6) in the 40 appearances he made in all competitions leads to a certain degree of scepticism at this deal – especially given the mooted fee of £9million. However, this is certainly not an attempt to write him off before he has even set foot on the pitch, especially given that at 22 he is by no means the finished product. If Pardew maintains the single frontman approach that was employed last season then Wickham provides a strong presence that isn’t particularly present in the squad, especially now Glenn has left for Bournemouth. Should Wickham improve his goal scoring figures then he could represent a very shrewd piece of business – and with the creative power of the likes of Zaha & Bolasie if he gets a run of games I certainly would not bet against a much better return than was seen last season at Sunderland.

It’s the signings of Wickham alongside Alex McCarthy & Bakary Sako that demonstrate the move by the club towards finding quality cover for the first 11. Last season palace were exceptionally lucky that (aside from Chamakh) the first 11 remained much the same from week to week due to the majority of the squad remaining injury free. This season hasn’t gone the same way thus far; during pre-season Yannick had a spell on sidelines, Chamakh is yet to feature this season and although Speroni is on his way back he hasn’t played a single premier league game yet this season. In a period where three first team players have been out injured, palace have managed to place themselves second in the table, having picked up 9 points from the first 4 games. It was the cover for Bolasie, Bakary Sako, who arguably provided the inspiration for the win at Chelsea and just goes to show the strength of the squad now – not just the first 11.

For me, there is one notable absentee from the list of incomings though, and it strikes me as a fairly big one. In all other areas of the pitch there is incredible strength in depth but for me there is a question mark over whether there is enough quality and cover in the heart of the defence. Scott Dann is an unquestioned starter in that position (albeit he has had a shaky start to the season) and the choice for his partner has to currently be made out of Damien Delaney and Brede Hangeland. Cover for one injury or suspension in central defence could certainly cause a problem and quite frankly the idea of both Dann and Delaney being out doesn’t even bare thinking about. Martin Kelly is a centre back by trade and could certainly provide cover, but having played most of his professional career at full back making the switch for a few games would be by no means easy. This problem has been demonstrated by the month long lay-off for Joel Ward that was reported on Thursday. The natural replacement will of course be Martin Kelly, but beyond that reinforcements for the back four may be hard to find within the current squad.

Palace’s summer business has been lauded by many pundits as being one of the best out of all the premier league clubs and it really isn’t hard to see why. The additions of quality have, first and foremost improved the first team, provided increased competition for places and provided much needed cover in some key positions. The depth in the squad now can be personified in one person – Mile Jedinak; the first season in the premier league he was indispensable for palace, the powerhouse in the middle of the park and although his distribution was shady at times, his ability as a ball winner shone through. He hasn’t started a game in the first four games of the season because he’s being kept out of the team by Puncheon, McCarthur and Cabaye. Two years ago, to think that Mile Jedinak would be playing a bit-part role from the bench would have been unfathomable but in the first few games of the season it is certainly true to say this is the case now. In general though, the club’s business, aside from Cabaye, has been quietly unspectacular – bringing in quality players at reasonable prices that just add to the quality of the squad and first eleven as a whole. I do think the club may have missed a trick by not bringing in a real long term partner for Scott Dann but then again if the right player wasn’t available at a reasonable price then it may have been prudent to put it off until at least January and perhaps there is a young player Pardew is looking towards to have the chance if the worst were to happen and Delaney & Dann got long term injuries.

I have to finish this by mentioning the one significant outgoing transfer of the summer window - Glenn Murray’s deadline day switch to the south coast. I think everyone both at the club and in the terraces were sad to see go him go, but understanding of the reasons behind it. Glenn’s premier league account never really got off the ground but it was his goals that fired us to the ‘Promised Land’ in the final season in the championship and was an excellent servant to the club throughout his four year spell at SE25, the consummate professional that built up a real rapport with the fans. Without trying to sound cliché, he isn’t getting any younger and guaranteed playing must understandably have been on the agenda for him – I think there are few fans that begrudge him the move to hopefully prolong his career in the premier league and score goals at the highest level, which we all know he is capable of doing. The moment he stepped onto the pitch for his first premier league appearance, after suffering an awful injury just prior to promotion, was simply incredible. No amount of hyperbole can describe the love and adoration poured towards Glenn Murray in the 78^th minute of that game against West Brom. Our returning hero is gone, but most certainly not forgotten.