If they play their cards right in the transfer market this summer, Crystal Palace could be one of the Premier League’s dark horses in the 2023/24 campaign.
Roy Hodgson, despite his age, seems to be just the right fit for the south Londoners at this point in time, and if he’s allowed to work by owner Steve Parish, and there’s nothing to suggest that wouldn’t be the case, there’s every chance that the former England manager can get his Eagles to replicate their form of late last season.
They were, for that brief period at the business end, one of the best teams to watch in the English top-flight. Their football was dynamic and exciting, and they scored goals for fun in some games.
Replicating that will take hard work on the training pitch and a desire to improve from each and every player. That should come if Hodgson is able to provide some decent strength in depth, as there’s nothing like the thought of someone stealing your place in the starting line up to get a player focused.
As we approach the new season, it appears that Palace may have a double reason to celebrate too.
“Palace obviously look like they have suffered a big loss this summer and need to find a new Zaha. We should bear in mind he still doesn’t actually have a new club and there don’t seem to be as many offers there now as there were at first. But, at this stage, we have to assume he doesn’t rejoin them and, if that’s the case, they need to find a new spark,” reliable journalist, Dean Jones, told Give Me Sport.
“They are genuinely looking at Matheus Franca. He’s not exactly the same as he seems more of a central option, but he’s an exciting attacking midfielder and I have been told that the player is interested in the idea of joining them if it progresses from here.
“Obviously, the main complication comes from the fact Chelsea are looking at this too, and it is pretty rare they do not complete a signing of this profile and type.
“Roy Hodgson is seeking new options in a couple of other key positions – centre-back and striker are two that sound to me like priorities. They are also likely to hang on to Marc Guehi, which would be a massive boost. He’s got a big price tag on him and that’s basically to prevent buyers rather than put him to market.”
If they could ensure that both those deals are done, that may even go some way to tempting Zaha to put pen to paper on another Palace deal.
Given that he would supposedly become their best paid player ever, he doesn’t really have any need to move elsewhere if the squad is to his liking.