Oliver Glasner may leave Crystal Palace this summer, but he will be leaving the club in pretty good shape.
This was a difficult season, but repeating the success of 2024/25 was always going to be difficult. The odds were then reversed, with Crystal Palace beating Manchester City to win the FA Cup and defeating Liverpool in the Community Shield in August.
However, the Eagles will face AEK Larnaca in the last 16 of the conference league and are one of the favorites to lift that trophy.
This is unlike anything Selhurst Park has experienced before, with Glasner having overseen the rise of more than a few superstars since joining the Londoners in February 2024.
Crystal Palace manager Glasner’s big stars
Although it has been a difficult season, Crystal Palace are starting to find their footing in the Premier League once again and are aiming to move out of the relegation battle and instead qualify for Europe.
And it follows the sale of captain Marc Guehi to Manchester City in January, with the Three Lions star entering the final stages of a contract he had no intention of renewing.
The Eagles were hurt by his departure, but they still have Maxence Lacroix and Jaydee Cambot looks like a true future star at center back.
Just as they did when they sold Eberechi Eze to Arsenal for £67m last summer, they persevered and his winning goal in the final gave Palace the FA Cup win.
Eze was good. Really good. And now it is immortalized in Selhurst Park. But Eze was not as good a player as Michael Oliseh, who missed out on the title celebrations in south London after moving to Bayern Munich a year ago.
Who could blame him? The France international was a maverick at Palace but is now set to be “one of the best players in the world” in 2024, as journalist Henry Swain puts it.
Glassner and chairman Steve Parrish would have preferred to keep Olise on longer, but some players have to play at the highest level and always have a shot at the highest prize money.
Now, Glasner has discovered such a talent again.
Glasner discovers new Michael Orisse
Oliseh, 24, developed into a superstar at Selhurst Park, joining from Championship side Reading and becoming one of the Premier League’s most dangerous attacking midfielders.
Now, Adam Wharton is becoming a new version of this costume.
The England midfielder has only been at the club for just two years, having joined from Blackburn Rovers in January 2024 for around £18 million. The 22-year-old is known for his passing and maturity in the center of the park, as well as his ability with the ball, which analyst and scout Ben Mattinson hailed as his “cheat code” on the ball.
Recruited from the EFL to the top flight in a similar fashion to Ollies, Glasner may have found a new version of the French prodigy. While not positionally similar, there are similarities, with Wharton becoming even more of a talisman by match week.
He has never scored a goal in the Premier League, but that is not his playbook. Wharton is a maestro and deeply influences Palace’s attacking sequence.
All the top clubs are enthusiastic (as was the case with Olise). However, Eagles executives responded by listing him for £100m, as his world-class potential requires a world-class price tag.
Injuries hampered his progress in the Premier League last season. But still, Wharton has improved by leaps and bounds this year, becoming more precise with his creative passing without sacrificing the defensive qualities that make him such an impressive all-action midfielder.
Adam Wharton’s Premier League development | ||
|---|---|---|
Statistics (* per 90) | 24/25 | 25/26 |
Match (start) | 20(16) | 26(26) |
Goal + Assist | 0+2 | 0+5 |
touch* | 45.7 | 53.9 |
Exact path* | 26.7 (79%) | 31.0 (79%) |
Loss of ownership* | 10.8 | 12.7 |
A big opportunity has arisen | 5 | 11 |
Key pass* | 1.3 | 1.2 |
It was successful. dribble* | 0.1 | 0.4 |
Ball recovery rate* | 5.1 | 5.1 |
Tackle + Interception* | 2.7 | 3.2 |
clearance* | 1.4 | 1.3 |
Win a duel* | 3.2 (46%) | 4.6 (50%) |
Wharton is the real deal and Parish and all of Palace’s persuasion hope he stays for years to come, but chances are that every transfer window will be swarmed with elite suitors until something finally happens.
It will be a disappointing day, but the £100m-rated midfielder is sure to be a record-breaking sale, so while he will no doubt emulate Olise, it will prove once again how far this team has come.
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.
