Crystal Palace transfer guide: Familiar summer ahead as investment needed up front amid potential exits

Final decision required from Wilfried Zaha as Eagles look to spruce up frontline
Dom Smith31 May 2023

No Premier League team spent less on new signings this season than Crystal Palace, who invested only around £45m on Cheick Doucoure, Chris Richards and Naouirou Ahamada.

But this could be a busy summer at Selhurst Park and Palace have already moved to sign Jefferson Lerma on a free transfer from Bournemouth.

It remains to be seen whether Roy Hodgson will stay on as manager, and Wilfried Zaha’s future remains uncertain.

Top priority

A striker. Much of Palace’s struggles under Patrick Vieira boiled down to their lack of clinical finishing and a new frontman is key this summer.

Odsonne Edouard and Jean-Philippe Mateta managed just seven Premier League goals between them and Palace will look to upgrade on them.

What else they need

Palace have confirmed long-term servants Luka Milivojevic and James McArthur are leaving this summer and they are targeting new midfielders.

The Eagles have already moved to sign Lerma on a free transfer from Bournemouth. The Colombian cost Bournemouth £25m in 2018 and was named their player of the season.

Palace could also be in the market for a new defender, with Marc Guehi a target for Tottenham and Arsenal.

Possible ins

A deal to sign Lerma has been agreed and Palace have been linked number of strikers, including Middlesbrough’s Chuba Akpom and Lyon's Moussa Dembele.

They have also been linked with a move for 18-year-old Gambian striker Adama Bojang, who is currently starring at the Under-20 World Cup, as well as Sunderland duo Ross Stewart and Jack Clarke.

Nice right-back Jordan Lotomba is another player linked with a move to Selhurst Park.

A replacement for Wilfried Zaha may be needed
Getty Images

Possible outs

Zaha’s future remains uncertain. Palace have offered him a new four-year contract worth £200,000-a-week but he has so far been reluctant to commit to his boyhood club.

Guehi is wanted by Tottenham and Arsenal but Palace are demanding £50m for him, while James Tomkins is out of contract.

Michael Olise has been identified by Paris Saint-Germain as a potential summer target but Palace will be reluctant to lose him and Zaha in the same summer.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in