Crystal Palace have ended their campaign on a high, winning the UEFA Conference League to deliver the club its first-ever European trophy.
The Eagles endured a difficult domestic season, finishing 15th in the Premier League, but have qualified for UEFA Europa League football next season following their 1-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano.
While Palace fans will be elated today, the most successful manager in the club’s history led his squad to silverware for the final time last night, as Oliver Glasner moves on from life at Selhurst Park.
Finding his successor will be challenging.
It had been heavily reported that Andoni Iraola was the frontrunner to become the next Palace boss, but further reports today have seemingly squashed those rumours, with the former AFC Bournemouth manager understood to be looking for a different challenge.
Finding a solution to their managerial dilemma will be imperative over the coming weeks ahead of the summer transfer window, which opens on June 15th.
With Europa League football confirmed for next season, the club will be keen to add further depth to the squad to avoid becoming victims of a congested fixture schedule, while also improving their competitiveness in the Premier League alongside European football.
Speaking to Sky Sports News this morning, Palace chairman Steve Parish gave an insight into the club’s summer recruitment plans:
“Hopefully not too busy. We need to add. I don’t think it’s a great thing if you change too much of the squad. We’ve got a really good squad, we spent big in January. But there are definitely positions where we need to strengthen.
“We’re going on a pre-season tour where all the young lads that have been playing in the Championship will get their chance because we have 12 players going to the World Cup, which is incredible. So there will be some gaps in pre-season and time for people to show what they can do.”
Should Crystal Palace spend big this summer?
There is no doubt that Palace have achieved more than supporters could have imagined in their wildest dreams over recent years.
However, their FA Cup triumph and now their European success will create a level of expectation that can be built upon, which is why this summer will be incredibly important and pivotal in shaping the next chapter without Glasner.
The Austrian manager has built a squad with a winning mentality that should not be tampered with unnecessarily, but strengthening the side with additional depth and quality would certainly help maintain the high standards that have now been set.
More importantly, retaining players such as Adam Wharton and Maxence Lacroix, both of whom have been linked with moves away this summer, could prove to be the defining factor in determining whether Palace can genuinely compete on all fronts next season.
If the club can hold on to its key players, it would preserve the foundations Glasner has built in South London and give the incoming manager the best possible platform to continue driving the club’s ambitious project forward.
After years of instability and inconsistency, Crystal Palace finally appear to have a clear identity both on and off the pitch.
The challenge now is ensuring this season is remembered not as the peak of their success, but as the beginning of a new era in which European football, silverware and genuine progression become the standard rather than the exception.
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