Oliver Glasner’s announcement that he would be leaving Crystal Palace at the end of the season caused a lot of confusion, but at least there is clarity at Selhurst Park.
To be fair, things have steadyed the ship in recent weeks and Palace are no longer looking nervously at the Premier League’s relegation pack, instead hoping to continue their winning streak and claw their way into European contention.
Additionally, the Eagles are one of the favorites to win the conference league championship and back-to-back titles under Coach Glasner.
Why Glassner is leaving Palace
After announcing his intention to leave, Glasner was shunned by Crystal Palace supporters who appeared to criticize the club’s display of ambition after beating Manchester City to win the FA Cup.
The 51-year-old said he wanted to seek a “new challenge” and will probably feel he has achieved all his goals and then some after winning the trophy and leading the south Londoners to Europe.
Under Glassner, Palace developed a shrewd business. There have been a lot of financial power shake-ups lately, but the truth is that perhaps he has gone too far, especially with chairman Steve Parish and his complaints about the departure of powerful players and a “lack of ambition” shining a light on his decision, with talk of Manchester United preparing to make an attack on his signature.
But he won’t be the only manager to resign this summer. Jean-Philippe Mateta is another one. The Austrian’s top scorer since his arrival almost signed for AC Milan in a £30m deal last summer, but a move in January fell through due to a medical failure.
Glasner’s top scorer at Crystal Palace | ||
|---|---|---|
player | app | the goal |
Jean-Philippe Mateta | 93 | 40 |
Ismail Saar | 76 | twenty five |
god bless you | 56 | 20 |
Eddie Nketiah | 56 | 11 |
Daniel Muñoz | 91 | 10 |
It would make sense for him to leave given Jorgen Strand Larsen arrived in 2026 for a club-record fee, but he may not be the only change in the final third.
Palace could part with £30m striker
If Glasner were to offer to sign a new contract, Crystal Palace and many of their supporters would jump at the idea. However, changes are probably necessary at this stage.
It remains to be seen who else will leave, but it’s probably not unfair to suggest that Eddie Nketiah could stay on, while the likes of Adam Wharton and Ismaila Sarr will have key roles in the project.
It is interesting that Nketiah is Glasner’s fourth highest scorer at Selhurst Park. After all, he has faced his fair share of criticism since joining the club from Arsenal for a fee of £30m in 2024.
Nketiah has scored four goals in 19 games in all competitions this season, including two in the Premier League, but he has been out with a thigh injury since December and is not trusted to play a key role in the Conference League, starting in one of the five games.
For a player who paid a considerable amount of money to join and was hailed as a “beast” by Mikel Arteta, perhaps he did not have the desired effect. On the other hand, Strand Larsen has been doing well this season, so it seems unlikely that Nketiah will play a starring role next season.
Would the one-cap England international, now 26, want to play second fiddle again? Palace may need another striker to complement the new Norwegian, but even if Mateta leaves, selling Nketiah as well and bringing in a shrewd replacement could be the perfect way to get things going.
Glassner has hinted that the club lacks ambition, but using Nketiah to move to add another goal scorer will fill the incoming manager with optimism and confirm that the Eagles have no intention of resting on their laurels of recent success.
Parrish gave Gold to a Crystal Palace star who deserved more than Strand Larsen.
Crystal Palace appear to have done some great business in signing their star player.
