After years of looking at great rivals, Brighton praised in the air, it is time that Crystal Palace got some love.
Next season the 13th of Palace will be in the Premier League one after the other – not bad for a club that fits barely 25,000 in their stadium.
What is even more important, they are perhaps only 90 minutes away from the greatest day in their history. Even in the FA Cup final of next month against Manchester City, that palace is a triumph for their excellent evaluation of players and coaches. Clubs such as Brighton and Brentford are rightly praised for their data -driven approach to the market, which has yielded a long list of stunning success stories.
However, if those clubs are the best in finding gems in undiscovered competitions, Palace are the masters of identifying talent for their own door.
Three years after signing Michael Olise for £ 8 million from Reading, Palace Bayern Munich took over to activate his £ 50 million release clause last summer. Adam Wharton cost a first £ 18 million from Blackburn, Ebereechi £ 19.5 million from Queens Park Rangers and Marc Guehi £ 18 million from Chelsea, but Palace bought him on the basis of a successful loan in Swansea.
All three were members of the English team that reached the Euro 2024 final. They will probably eventually leave the palace, but if they do that, it will be a huge win.
Everyone in the top flight knew Van Olise, Wharton, Eze and Guehi, but only Palace was brave enough to support their judgment with transfer costs and contracts. “It is 100 percent credit on recruitment,” said palace boss Oliver Glasner after seeing his side Aston Villa in the semi -final.
“It's a great group to manage. It's all about recruitment and talent and character. Then we can build a group.
“We have the first small reward that we can come back within three weeks and play here again in this fantastic stadium.”
Now Palace has their work cut out to keep delivering on the market, after the departure of sports director Dougie Freedman to the Saudi club Al Diriyah last month. Freedman, the legendary former Palace striker, rode the signing sessions of Wharton, Eze and Olise.
For the upcoming transfer window, goals will probably have been identified before Freedman left, but Palace will feel his absence in those who follow and they must name wisely. Palace hopes that replacing Freedman will be their only major sporting decision in the coming months.
The success of Glasner in leading the palace to the edge of their first major trophy has not gone unnoticed in the boardrooms of the world's strongest clubs.
Glasner already understands what it is like to lead a top club.
He led Eintracht Frankfurt, a big name in German football, to Europa League Glory in 2022.
He has proven the ideal coach to get the most out of the excellent recruitment from Palace and has the right combination of calmness and passion on the touchline. There is a lot to be found for the richest clubs.
It is no surprise that Glasner was on the shortlist of Bayern Munich last summer before they appointed Vincent Kompany, and the high command of the German giants will have viewed Palace Villa with interest.
Having Worked at Frankfurt, Glasner Knew Already What It was to Operate at A Club who are managed effective off the pitch – just look at their striker factory that produced huge fees for luka jovic (£ 50m to real madrid), Andre Silva to West Ham), Randal Kolo Muani (£ 76m to Paris Saint-Germain), and most recently Omar Marmoush (£ 59 million to Manchester City). Hugo Ekitike seems to add to the list this summer with a series of Premier League admirers. Fortunately for Glasner, Palace is just as impressive.