Following their unexpected 1-0 victory against Liverpool on Sunday, Crystal Palace will play in the Premier League again in 2024–2025. Oliver Glasner’s team would need to have an unbelievable collapse to finish below the dreaded dotted line from here, as they are currently eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Choosing a standout player from Palace’s outstanding group effort at Anfield is difficult. Tyrick Mitchell had his best game of the season at left wing-back, while Joachim Andersen masterfully marshalled the defense. The line was well led by Jean-Philippe Mateta, Dean Henderson held his own in goal, and Ebere Eze had a few standout performances, including a cool finish on the game-winning goal.
Adam Wharton, making just his tenth Premier League game, was as outstanding. The 20-year-old midfielder appears to have been playing at the top level for years after joining from Blackburn Rovers in January.
Wharton was an important player on the ball’s two sides. Even in the face of intense Liverpool pressure, he completed 88% of his passes when in possession. Wharton is an expert at punching one-touch passes through the lines, which he demonstrated twice in the sequence leading up to Eze’s goal.
The Palace midfielder also made six tackles, more than any of his teammates. He is a tenacious operator in the engine room, getting in opponents’ faces and regularly regaining the ball for his side.
Wharton has made a magnificent start to life in the top tier and there have even been calls for him to be included in England’s squad for Euro 2024. The tournament in Germany will surely come too soon for a player with only one under-21 cap to his name, but it will not be long before Wharton appears on Gareth Southgate’s radar.
The 20-year-old is part of a group of players that should give Palace fans excitement for next season. A core that contains Andersen, Marc Guehi, Cheick Doucoure, Wharton, Eze and Michael Olise gives Glasner something to build around. The Austrian will hope that there is money to spend in the summer too.
Palace may need to sell before they can buy, however. Wharton will not be departing after six months in south London, but one of Eze, Olise or Guehi could be sacrificed in order to generate much-needed funds.
Palace signed all four of those players following successful stints in the Championship; Guehi came from Chelsea but had previously been on loan at Swansea City. Under sporting director Dougie Freedman, they have made themselves the go-to destination for young, talented players from the second flight
Eze cost £17m and Palace demanded £70m to sell him last summer. Olise was acquired for just £8m and reportedly has a release clause of £60m. Guehi, an England international, is worth far more than the £18m Palace paid three years ago. And the £22m the Eagles shelled out for Wharton already looks like a bargain.
All of which raises the question: should the Premier League’s bigger clubs do more of their shopping in the Championship? At least one member of the division’s elite is likely to submit a sizable bid for one of Eze, Olise or Guehi in the summer. They could have saved themselves tens of millions had they taken a punt a few years earlier… or, in Chelsea’s case, simply kept hold of Guehi.
The so-called big six do not buy directly from the Championship very often at all, especially if we exclude reserve goalkeepers (Scott Carson) and signings made immediately after a team was relegated from the Premier League (Andy Robertson).
You have to go all the way back to 2016 for the last time Arsenal bought a first-team player from a club that had played in the Championship the previous season – Rob Holding from Bolton Wanderers.
Five years have passed since Manchester United brought in Dan James from Leeds United. It has been even longer since Manchester City signed Fulham forward Patrick Roberts in 2015. Fabio Carvalho is the sole Liverpool signing who meets the above criteria in the last nine years, while Chelsea’s most recent addition from the second tier was Michael Hector, also in 2015.
Tottenham have been more willing to look to the Championship, acquiring the likes of Joe Rodon, Ashley Phillips and Djed Spence in recent years, but they are the exception in this grouping.
Yet perhaps the experience of the players mentioned above shows precisely why the Premier League’s big boys are wary of buying directly from the Championship. None of the names mentioned here could be called unqualified successes at their respective top-flight clubs, although Holding was definitely worth the £2m Arsenal paid for his signature.
This is all excellent news for Palace, as they have established themselves as a desirable location for aspirational Championship stars. Even if the Eagles might have to market themselves to these guys as a possible stepping stone, having players like Olise and Eze for a few years before selling them for a sizable profit is still a great deal all around.
