Cast your minds back to the beginning of last summer when Crystal Palace had announced a slew of exciting signings with Patrick Vieira at the helm to lead the south London side into a new era.
How and why so many pundits and neutrals thought the Frenchman was going to fail, in hindsight, was quite spectacular as the Eagles enjoyed a decent campaign that ended in an FA Cup semi-final appearance and a midtable finish. And this summer, Palace will only get stronger.
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Whilst losing star loan player Conor Gallagher is tough, Palace are set for a huge transfer window, with many exciting summer signings expected to be brought in by Vieira to improve on last season’s Premier League finish.
With some many big names being linked to Palace, we take a look at what the club’s main starting XI, as well as their backup side, could look like next season, with Eagles supporters very confident about what is to come in the new campaign in 2022/23.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka headlines four new signings in Palace first team
Vieira did an incredible job last summer offloading a lot of deadwood and lowering the average age of the squad by some margin, However, the Frenchman has to essentially do the same job again this transfer window, and rumours suggest that this is exactly what is going to happen.
The biggest name to join Palace in our potential XI is Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who three years after joining Manchester United for £50m could now return to south London according to reports, with the defender losing his place for the Red Devils last season and now set to be axed by Erik Ten Hag.
Another new face in the XI for next season is England international Sam Johnstone, who replaces Jack Butland and Vicente Guaita as the unrivalled no.1 at Selhurst Park, completing a quite exciting backline made of experience and potential.
Whilst the attack remains unchanged with Wilfried Zaha having his best season in some time for Palace and Michael Olise taking the Premier League by storm, the midfield is the area of the main XI with the most changes.
Palace are linked to both football hipster cult hero Ibrahima Sangare and RC Lens star Cheick Doucoure, and with Eberiche Eze now back to full fitness, these three players could form a sensational midfield that has pretty much everything one could want from the position.
Chris Richards and Reiss Nelson join on loan as two more arrivals join
A strong backup XI can be the difference between a midtable finish or a crack at a European spot in the Premier League, and for Palace, they already have a lot of components to make up a solid reserve side.
The aforementioned Butland impressed in Palace’s run to the FA Cup semi-final last season, and the likes of Joel Ward, Jean-Phillippe Mateta and Will Hughes are also solid backup players, with club captain Luka Milivojevic an outstanding option off the bench.
Youngsters Nathan Ferguson and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi also make our backup XI, with the former West Brom defender set to final feature regularly for Palace after a horrific two-year spell out from injury, whilst the Eagles’ U-23 Player of the Year is ready for his first steps into the senior game after an outrageous 19-goal season for the winger.
As for new signings, Derby County talent Lee Buchanan could be a great backup left-back for Tyrick Mitchell, with the Rams willing to sell their talented defender for the right price, whilst Huddersfield Town maestro Lewis O’Brien, a reported target for Palace, could also add some quality and creative depth in central midfield.
For the last two new additions, Bayern Munich talent Chris Richards is reportedly on Palace’s radar, whilst Reiss Nelson has been linked with the Eagles over the years. Unlike the six previous signings, though, the pair will most likely only join Vieira’s side on loan given their current contract situations at their parent clubs.
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