Crystal Palace struggling to secure deals in latter half of window

Transfer windows are never easy, even when you carry the financial largesse of a Premier League club. Despite being a regular in the league for some years now, it is clear that Crystal Palace are not quite where they want to be in terms of reputation. While the club has enjoyed a good reputation domestically, often picking up future England internationals, abroad there is less reverence for the Eagles.

This is being proven this summer, as Palace continue to struggle to land targets outside of the Premier League. They have seen themselves miss out on a few major targets, including Joe Aribo (Southampton) and Andreas Pereira (Fulham).  One name that was heavily linked earlier in the window, too, was Orel Mangala. The Belgian has been a fine performer for Stuttgart in Germany, and was linked with a move to Palace. However, he has chosen to instead join Nottingham Forest, further leading to more headaches.

Another name that might be harder to land this summer than hoped is Ibrahima Sangare. The Ivory Coast midfielder plays for PSV Eindhoven, and Palace were confident of securing a deal before the season ended. However, it looks like any hopes of landing a deal for the midfielder might be dead in the water already. As we approach the end of July, then, the Eagles are not exactly flying high when it comes to getting deals over the line.

This is causing much frustration with fans, who want to see the team kick on to the next level in 2022-23. With so many major targets joining elsewhere or not interested in a move to South London, though, this is proving more challenging than first hoped.

Hard to get deals done in such a busy window

Part of the problem for Palace has been that several clubs – promoted or just staying up last year – have been ambitious. And with there being a limited cache of players in the world who are Premier League quality, there is always natural overlap. This means that many signings looked at in the past have gone elsewhere as other teams have moved faster, paid more, or simply offered the player a more exciting project. This has caused a lot of problems this summer, and is now actively creating some concern.

Improvements to the squad have been minimal, and the loss of a key player in Conor Gallagher means that Palace are short on numbers and in quality in midfield. The challenge remains – can they find a midfielder who can add goals and improve the teams solidity all at once? So far, the answer has been no.

Fans were eager to see if the youthful vigour of the team and the presence of Patrick Vieira could have a positive impact on the squads transfer dealings. So far, though, things have been more frustrating than illuminating. As it stands, fans should probably strap in for what might be a frustrating final month of transfer activity.