Crystal Palace’s summer transfer window has been one of the quietest in the division so far, and with resources scarce at Selhurst Park it seems that Roy Hodgson will have a tough task on his hands when the season gets underway in two weeks time.
With Wolves and Fulham spending freely in the transfer market and bringing in plenty of quality players to their respective squads, Palace are in serious danger of being left behind their relegation-rivals next season. Of course, new signings do not guarantee success as players need to gel with their new teammates, but there’s no doubt the Eagles could benefit from a handful of key additions.
Based on how the window has panned out for Palace so far this summer, it’s fair to say that they will struggle to steer clear of the danger zone once again next season.
Despite this, there are some measures that Hodgson can take to ensure his side are able to retain their Premier League status beyond the 2018/19 season.
With that being said, here’s exactly what Hodgson needs to do in the final 2 weeks of the window to ensure Palace stand any chance of staying up…
Even if losing Zaha meant that Crystal Palace were able to sign three quality new players before the end of the window, it would still represent a huge error of judgement to sell him in the final fortnight of the window.
In the 9 fixtures which Zaha didn’t play for Palace last season, the club failed to record a single point in the Premier League – a statistic which firmly underlines his paramount importance to their success.
Plenty of rumours have circulated regarding his future at the club throughout the summer so far, but even a massive forthcoming offer should be rejected if they want to maintain any realistic expectation of avoiding relegation.
The financial implications of suffering relegation are far greater than the financial gain from selling Zaha this season, so the club must do everything in their power to fend off rival interest for his signature this summer.
With Palace seemingly cash-strapped and unable to spend like the majority of their Premier League rivals, signing Max Meyer represents a fantastic opportunity to add quality without breaking the bank.
The 22-year-old has been widely regarded as one of the most promising young talents in Europe throughout his development so far, but yet he remains a free agent after letting his contract at Schalke expire in June.
Meyer (valued at £16.2 million by Transfermarkt) recently converted to a deep-lying playmaker role despite spending the majority of his career in an advanced number ten position, and he enjoyed plenty of success last season in his new position.
With an average of 2.58 tackles and 2.84 interceptions (via Football Whispers) per game last season, Meyer proved he is able to dictate proceedings from deep whilst simultaneously providing a solid shield for the defensive unit and, considering Yohan Cabaye has now left the club, he would be an ideal talent to replace the Frenchman next season.
