Pierre Sage has admitted he was braced for a hectic summer at Crystal Palace, but even his preparation could not fully shield him from the drama of a transfer window that stretched deep into deadline day. The Frenchman, who succeeded Oliver Glasner after the club's most triumphant period, now turns his focus to Saturday's away fixture against Fulham following opening-day defeats to Everton and Manchester City.
Palace's business this summer once again followed a familiar late-window pattern, continuing a run that has seen the club sign ten players on deadline day in three of the last three transfer windows. Sage said he understood this tendency long before taking charge. "I knew that and I had to deal and adapt to that," he said. "But at the end the most important thing is to have the player or the profile we choose and that's the case. I think we are in line with what we need."
The club retained two of its most prized assets, with Ismaïla Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta staying put despite reported interest from Liverpool and Aston Villa respectively. However, Palace endured a notable setback when Malick Fofana, a player Sage pursued personally through a series of deadline-day calls given their shared history at Lyon, opted to join Sunderland instead. "I'm really proud and happy with what the club did for that," Sage said. "We fight a lot and sometimes you cannot give more than this, but we give our best in this situation. At the end, the player chooses."
Replacing the influence of Maxence Lacroix, sold to Chelsea in July, proved another challenge. Sage's preferred option, Lens defender Ismaëlo Ganiou, signed a new contract with his club before a move materialized. Further attempts to sign Joel Ordóñez from Club Brugge, Chrislain Matsima from Augsburg and Raphaël Le Guen from Brest also fell through. Palace eventually brought in Axel Disasi and loaned in teenager Honest Ahanor to address the defensive gap, though questions remain about whether Lacroix's leadership qualities have truly been replaced.
Despite the setbacks, Palace strengthened other areas of the squad. Dario Osorio arrived from Danish side Midtjylland on an initial loan with an obligation to buy next summer for £26m, joining a well-stocked forward line that already includes Dwight McNeil and Evann Guessand, though the latter has been omitted from the Europa League squad. Midfield options were also boosted by the return of Ben Chilwell and the late signing of Quinten Timber. Meanwhile, Palace successfully fended off interest in Adam Wharton, reportedly from clubs including Manchester City and Chelsea. "The club was strong with the situation, and I think the player is completely in line with that," Sage said.
Financially, Palace's summer activity resulted in a net spend of nearly £40m in profit, the second-lowest figure in the Premier League behind Aston Villa, despite breaking their transfer record twice in January for Jørgen Strand Larsen and Brennan Johnson, who was later swapped for McNeil in a deal with Everton.
Sage dismissed any suggestion of frustration with the club's recruitment strategy, drawing a comparison to his upbringing around his parents' restaurant in the French town of Belley. "I'm not frustrated - we are not a bank," he said. "We do with what we have. My parents had a restaurant and I prefer every day there's a lot of clients but it was not the case sometimes and we have to deal with that every day. In football it's the same."
With Mateta ruled out for roughly three weeks due to a hamstring injury and Sarr not expected back until the following fixture against Ipswich, Palace face Fulham without two key attacking options. Sage noted that Sarr "needs time" to recover mentally after his agent publicly criticized the handling of Liverpool's interest in the player. Glasner, now managing at Nottingham Forest, won three times at Craven Cottage last season, including an FA Cup quarter-final victory. Sage will be hoping his side can find similar success as they look for their first points of the new campaign.
Based on reporting from The Guardian.