Recently-released players from Arsenal and Southampton are said to have appeared – and scored – for Crystal Palace’s Under-23 side on Tuesday.
Palace included as many as nine trialists in their squad to face Tonbridge Angels, but failed to disclose the identities of any of them.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, the National League South side did that for them.
Crystal Palace won the game 3-0, with Alfie Matthews (Arsenal) and Harlem Hale (Southampton) on target, according to a report on the Angels’ official website.
The other Eagles goal was scored by one of their own players, Rob Street.
Matthews, a striker who is understood to have played for Palace’s development side at least once already this summer, was linked with Newcastle United earlier ahead of his Arsenal deal expiring and recently hinted at a ‘big move’ elsewhere, on Instagram.
Hale is a winger who spent the latter half of his teenage years at Southampton, having previously been on Chelsea’s books.
Reece Hannam, a left-back formerly of West Ham United, and Sam Oguntayo, a highly-rated winger most recently with Kingstonian, are among the other trialists believed to have featured for Crystal Palace at Tonbridge.
Palace’s academy was recently awarded Category 1 status, which represents a step up the ladder.
The new level is one at which Matthews, Hale and Hannam were previously involved, at Arsenal, Southampton and West Ham, respectively.
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