Crystal Palace News and Analysis

Ranking the 25 best Premier League wingers of the last 5 years

29Sep

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features, Premier League

Ranking the 25 best Premier League wingers of the last 5 years

Ranking the best wingers in the Premier League is a task so onerous that it may seem foolhardy, because even restricting the time span to the last five years doesn't make the task even easier. How do you rank, for example, a new breakout star like Anthony Gordon against a fallen superstar like Sadio Mane? Where does a gifted footballer like Riyad Mahrez stand against a former goal-scoring machine like Raheem Sterling? I tried my best to be fair and account for the unique merits each player brought to the table and avoid any club-based bias. I also decided to discard players who mostly offered value at non-winger positions, specifically Bernardo Silva, mostly to make my own job easier. (Don't worry, I'll have plenty of nice things to say about Silva in other pieces.) Finally, I did...

Crystal Palace have two of the Premier League’s best progressive passers

19Sep

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features, Premier League

Crystal Palace have two of the Premier League’s best progressive passers

After four Premier League matches, Crystal Palace sit just 16th in the league, which is a far cry from where they are hoping to be, even in the aftermath of losing their best player, Michael Olise, to Bayern Munich. Next up for Crystal Palace is a tough fixture against Manchester United, a Europa League side by virtue of winning the FA Cup last season. Right now, Man United are in 10th, and this is a winnable game for Palace despite the vast difference in wage bills. Crystal Palace may not be having the best start to the season, but they still have two of the best midfielders in the Premier League - top-class stars leading the way after Olise's departure. Both attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze and center/defensive midfielder Adam Wharton rank among the top five players in the Prem...

The best possible Crystal Palace lineup after Eddie Nketiah and Trevoh Chalobah transfers

31Aug

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Features, Premier League

The best possible Crystal Palace lineup after Eddie Nketiah and Trevoh Chalobah transfers

Crystal Palace made two major signings in the summer 2024 transfer window, bringing in Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah as part of their attacking solution while replacing Fulham-bound star center back Joachim Andersen with Chelsea's underappreciated Trevoh Chalobah. While Chalobah isn't necessarily going to be immediately as good as Andersen, he is a useful addition to the back line and could prove to be a better solution for Crystal Palace in the long run with a greater resale value, owing to his younger age. Meanwhile, Nketiah is a gamble at 30 million pounds, but the talented striker has the ability to become one of the top strikers in the Premier League, especially with a strong supporting cast around him. Although Crystal Palace were unable to hold onto their best player, Micha...

Celtic interested in bringing back star forward

27Aug

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Features

Celtic interested in bringing back star forward

Celtic sold their most talented attacking player, playmaker Matt O'Riley, to Brighton, and they are now in the market for some more signings to fortify Brendan Rodgers' squad for the Scottish Premiership and Champions League seasons. One area Celtic want to improve is their attack after losing O'Riley by signing a forward who can bring the goals to the table that they will be missing after selling the 23-year-old to the English Premier League. According to a report from Newsquest reporter Bobby Manzi, Celtic are interested in reuniting with star striker Odsonne Edouard, who currently plays for Crystal Palace. Edouard will become available now, because Palace have acquired Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah for around 30 million pounds, which will make him the new No. 9 of choice for th...

Newcastle close to completing £70 million blockbuster transfer

26Aug

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Features, Premier League

Newcastle close to completing £70 million blockbuster transfer

Newcastle United have plenty of financial power after the Saudi Arabian takeover, and they have largely used that money wisely in the past two seasons, parlaying their smart spending into a Champions League appearance in 2023/24. Although Newcastle missed out on the UCL with a disappointing finish last season, they had two silver linings, unearthing two of the best attacking players in the entire Premier League in Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak, who joined Sven Botman and Bruno Guimaraes as the latest impact signings by the Magpies. Newcastle may not be able to sign a right wing upgrade over Miguel Almiron to pair with Isak and Gordon due to difficulties in finding a landing spot for Almiron, but they are closing in on a blockbuster signing at a different position. According to...

Fabrizio Romano provides encouraging update on Eddie Nketiah transfer saga

25Aug

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Features, Premier League

Fabrizio Romano provides encouraging update on Eddie Nketiah transfer saga

Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah is a homegrown talent of the club and one of the better strikers in the Premier League, which he proved during a successful spell of starts in the middle of the 2022/23 season after starter Gabriel Jesus suffered an injury. However, Nketiah isn't quite up to the Arsenal standard as a pure goal-scorer, and the Gunners already have a couple of well-rounded types at the center forward position in bigger names Jesus and Kai Havertz. So that has made Nketiah expendable. After selling Emile Smith-Rowe to Fulham for more than 30 million pounds, Arsenal are hoping to get similar value for Nketiah on the transfer market. But they have been met with roadbloacks. Marseille were interested but unwilling to submit a serious financial offer, possibly because most L...

Every Premier League team’s most valuable player heading into the 2024/25 season

4Aug

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features, Premier League

Every Premier League team’s most valuable player heading into the 2024/25 season

Addressing the topic of a player's value is extremely difficult in world football, especially when comparing across positions and even ascribing value to a player specific to the team they play for. One way to define "value" is an equivalence to importance. That is to say, a player is valuable because he is important to his team, and the "Most Valuable Player", which is the phrasing Serie A uses for its annual award in a hearken to American sports, is therefore the player who helped his team the most. But in this article ,I'd like to discuss value in a less nebulous but equally challenging realm, which is a player's financial value on the transfer market in a perfect vacuum in which leverage, contract, and overall situation are taken out. Let's take a look at the most valuable pla...

The 10 most underrated center backs in world football in 2024

3Aug

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Bundesliga, Champions League, Features, LaLiga, Ligue 1, Premier League, Serie A

The 10 most underrated center backs in world football in 2024

As a position, center backs are underrated in general, because they have to do so much heavy lifting to stop the opposition's best attackers and are being tasked with more playmaking and on-the-ball ability under pressure - even moreso in modern football than ever before. Here are 10 center backs who are especially underrated. These are young players who haven't yet been picked out as top transfer targets, or they are more experienced players in their primes who have somehow flown under the radar, largely because they star for clubs outside of the spotlight. Joachim Andersen, Crystal Palace Even though Joachim Anderen has been operating at the highest level while starting for Crystal Palace in the Premier League, the vast majority of fans around the world don't know how good he is. ...

Ranking the 11 best young center midfielders in world football right now in 2024

7Jul

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Champions League, Features

Ranking the 11 best young center midfielders in world football right now in 2024

It isn't easy for a young player under the age of 23 to make a major impact in the center midfield positions, because it's a position that requires a combination of technical quality, tactical intelligence, defensive grit, energy, work rate, veteran know-how, and all-around footballing quality. Here are 10 young players under the age of 23 who have been standouts for their clubs in midfield. To be considered one of the best young center midfielders in the world, a player must be a 6 or an 8 and cannot only play as a 10. Players who are No. 10 playmakers but have a past history of success as a 6 or 8 are able to qualify for this list, because they have shown a history of success in this role. 11. Johnny Cardoso, Real Betis Johnny Cardoso is the least-known name on this list outside ...

10 best Premier League transfers so far: Tottenham dominate, Arsenal get 2, Crystal Palace’s bargain

26Sep

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Features, Premier League

10 best Premier League transfers so far: Tottenham dominate, Arsenal get 2, Crystal Palace’s bargain

Premier League clubs were busy wheeling and dealing in the last summer transfer window, making full use of an influx of cash from the Saudi Pro League buying up veteran players. The English top flight continues to lap the competition in European football when it comes to spending, signing some of the most talented footballers in Serie A and the Bundesliga, for example. Which signings have already paid off thus far after six Matchdays of action? Let's take a look at the 10 best signings of the season to this, very early, point. West Ham CM James Ward-Prowse Known as the finest free-kick specialist in all the land, James Ward-Prowse is earning a reputation as an even more impressive footballer for West Ham United. The Hammers raised eyebrows by spending 30 million pounds on the 28...