AliousCrystal Palace didn’t enjoy the best of transfer windows but their deadline day signings might be enough for Oliver Glasner to get things back on track.
Oliver Glasner transformed Crystal Palace from relegation contenders to a really exciting team after taking over from Roy Hodgson last season.
The Eagles were looking to kick on in the new campaign but predictably lost star forward Michael Olise, with Bayern Munich swooping in early in the summer, as well as reliable centre-back Joachim Andersen, who joined Fulham.
They did manage to keep hold of Marc Guehi, whose move to Newcastle collapsed, Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton, but the lack of investment in attacking areas and a poor start to the campaign has left supporters concerned.
Though Palace did pick up their first point of the season by holding Chelsea to a draw on Sunday, they had been beaten by West Ham and Brentford in their opening fixtures.
Much to the fans’ relief, Palace did make some late moves on transfer deadline day that could soon see their fortunes turn around.
Eddie Nketiah was brought in from Arsenal to add some firepower up front while Maxence Lacroix and Trevoh Chalobah have provided defensive reinforcements.
With the new signings on board, Glasner could unleash his new-look strongest starting XI when Palace return from the international break against Leicester.
Lacroix and Chalobah can create brilliant back-line
Palace have exclusively played with a back three since Glasner took over, even though he has often struggled to play three actual centre-backs.
Right-back Nathaniel Clyne has done an admirable job on the right of the back-three when called upon, though Chris Richards and summer signing Chadi Riad have struggled at points.
It’s no surprise Palace haven’t been as solid as they were initially under Glasner last season when they kept clean sheets to Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester United and Aston Villa.
But the arrivals of Lacroix and Chalobah could fix all that.
Glasner is very familiar with towering Frenchman Lacroix after managing him at Wolfsburg and was willing to let Anderson go in order to bring him in.
The manager obviously believes he will fit his set-up at Selhurst Park perfectly and Lacroix should bring some real aerial dominance and strength to the back line.
He’s also very confident in possession and possesses a range of passing that should make Palace a dynamic and difficult-to-predict outfit.
Making up the back three will be Chalobah.
Though he has been forced out of Stamford Bridge, he was actually one of Chelsea’s best performers last season.
A thigh injury ruled him out of action until February but when Chalobah came into the team, Chelsea only lost two more games, against Arsenal and Manchester City, for the rest of the season.
The 25-year-old is great at marshalling dangerous forwards and should make the side more resilient.
A familiar midfield
Glasner already has midfield four nailed down.
Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell provide all the width with their pacey runs on the flanks while also dropping back when out of possession.
Wharton is a guaranteed starter thanks to his comfort under pressure, accurate tackling and progressive passing to bring the team forward.
It’s a wonder more teams weren’t interested in him in the summer.
Then it’s a tossup between Jefferson Lerma, Will Hughes and Cheick Doucoure for who partners him in the middle.
Nketiah leads the line with Mateta
With the signing of another striker in Nketiah, Glasner has the opportunity to tweak his system slightly.
At present, he plays two supporting forwards in Eze and Daichi Kamada behind sole striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.
But, instead, Nketieh could now partner Mateta to create a striker partnership.
This would leave Eze to have a more central creative role, operating in the space behind the two strikers to provide them with opportunities
Mateta and Nketiah have the makings of a classic partnership, with the fast and nimble Nketiah able to feed off balls won by the bigger Mateta.
While both of them are capable of finding the back of the net.
Nketiah can drop deep and move out wide if needed but he will no doubt be eager to finally get a chance to play up front consistently and prove he can deliver the goals when trusted to do so.
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