In just under a fortnight, Crystal Palace will visit the Hill Dickinson Stadium to kick off their 2026/27 Premier League campaign. They'll be a leading centre-half light, without the most successful manager in their history and with a series of new arrivals who are yet to prove themselves in the English game.
Are the Palace hierarchy taking a risk given what we know about England's top division?
Standing still as a Premier League club rarely means anything other than going backwards, particularly when the teams around you recruit aggressively.
Should Crystal Palace fans be worried about the 2026/27 Premier League season?
Oliver Glasner’s departure left a void at Selhurst Park, albeit not for very long with the appointment of Pierre Sage, who masterminded an improbable Ligue 1 title challenge with RC Lens last term.
While Glasner's relationship with sections of the home support was occasionally strained, there is no denying his calibre as a top-tier head coach. Replacing a manager of his proven pedigree is always a difficult undertaking, regardless of how long Palace had to make their decision.
From a squad perspective, FourFourTwo aren't overly enamoured by the business the South London club have done so far.
Take Palace's reshuffling of their wide attacking options, for instance. The swap deal involving Dwight McNeil and Brennan Johnson raises immediate questions about the club's long-term trajectory. Is replacing one inconsistent Premier League winger with another truly improving the squad, or is it an uninspired sideways move?
They are different players, despite playing in similar positions, but neither feels like the transformative force needed to elevate Palace’s attack into the upper half of the table. From the outside, if anything it reflects a safety-first mindset.
The club’s recruitment strategy elsewhere is also of interest. Spending on an unproven youngster from Major League Soccer in Zavier Gozo is entirely reasonable in isolation - it fits Palace’s established, admirable ethos of identifying raw, high-upside talent.
However, an 18-year-old making the leap from North America cannot be framed as a marquee signing tasked with carrying a primary attacking burden in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, the handling of outgoing talent could be deemed short-sighted, highlighted by letting Romain Esse join Club Brugge. While Esse has failed to kick on at Selhurst Park as many had hoped, it was an open secret that his limited minutes stemmed primarily from his relationship with Glasner.
With new management taking the reins, why not offer the gifted youngster a clean slate?
Defensively, the warning signs are even more pronounced after losing Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea.
Replacing him with Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oscar Mingueza on free transfers may look thrifty, but it's a risk. Tomiyasu is an intelligent player, but his historic injury record makes relying on him as a week-in-week-out starter a roll of the dice. Mingueza provides versatile depth, but in all likelihood neither truly replicates Lacroix’s impact.
If Palace fail to complete further marquee business before the transfer window closes, this summer could end up being a sharp step backward, especially when considering the strengthening that has gone on at clubs who finished below them last season.
