Crystal Palace's triumphant 2025, which saw the south London club win their first major trophy, has given way to a turbulent start to 2026. The FA Cup holders were eliminated by Macclesfield in one of the competition's biggest shocks, and soon after, captain Marc Guéhi was sold to Manchester City while manager Oliver Glasner announced he would leave at the end of the season.
The January transfer window brought further controversy. Jean-Philippe Mateta's failed move to Milan dominated deadline day, while Palace's withdrawal from a deal to sign Dwight McNeil from Everton sparked criticism after the winger's partner accused the club of “toying” with his mental health. Palace did break their transfer record twice in a month, signing Brennan Johnson for £35m and Jørgen Strand Larsen from Wolves for a fee that could reach £48m, but Larsen has scored only one Premier League goal this season and Johnson has yet to find the net since joining from Tottenham.
Glasner, despite the distractions, has a wealth of attacking options for Sunday's trip to Brighton, including new loan signing Evann Guessand from Aston Villa, who could join for £26m at the end of the season. The Austrian manager had repeatedly called on chairman Steve Parish to invest in the squad, particularly ahead of their debut European campaign, and the recent spending suggests Parish has finally heeded those calls.
However, Palace's net spend over the past five years is over £200m – the 10th highest in the Premier League – while Brighton, their upcoming opponents, are the only club to have made a transfer profit in that period. Palace have struggled to sell players at the right time, as illustrated by Guéhi, for whom Newcastle and Tottenham offered £70m last year but who was eventually sold for £20m. Parish defended the decision, citing the FA Cup triumph.
Parish, now backed by US billionaire Woody Johnson who bought a 43% stake last year, faces the challenge of funding a new main stand and maintaining squad investment. With several key players, including Mateta, Adam Wharton, Daniel Muñoz and Daichi Kamada, potentially leaving in the summer, the chairman must also navigate a truce with Glasner and end a 12-match winless run.
