Crystal Palace are no strangers to a loan move from Chelsea. The Eagles have previously taken the likes of Patrick Bamford, Loic Remy, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Michy Batshuayi from the Blues on temporary deals.
However, while the first two of those deals failed to set the world alight, the latter deals proved successful for Palace – but suffered sad endings.
In Loftus-Cheek’s case, the midfielder dazzled at Selhurst Park. He scored two league goals and notched four assists in the 2017/18 season, doing enough to earn a spot in Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad.
Sadly for Palace there was no option to buy in the temporary deal and the Eagles were forced to watch their loan hero leave for good. The Evening Standard reported the club “tried everything” to get him back.
The same happened with Batshuayi. After the Belgian hit five goals in just nine league starts, Palace were again helpless when their temporary fix left SE25, taking them back to square one.
Now, however, sporting director Dougie Freedman appears to have learned from those experiences when bringing the former Marseille forward back to Selhurst Park for a second stint.
The Daily Mail reports Palace now have an option to buy Batshuayi at the end of the 2020/21 campaign when his loan expires, which will be music to Palace fans’ ears.
Should the 26-year-old enjoy a brilliant season, Palace will be able to exercise their clause to buy him permanently rather than enter a bidding war.
After all, the Eagles have been held to ransom in such a manner before with another loanee – Mamadou Sakho.
The centre-back excelled during a six-month loan move from Liverpool in 2017 but no option to buy was implemented. Freedman was then forced to cough up £26 million for the Frenchman, having seen three bids rejected beforehand, according to the Guardian.
It seems as if Palace won’t be in such an uncomfortable position this time round thanks to Freedman learning previous lessons.
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