Despite taking their time, Steve Parish and the player recruitment team oversaw a very promising and shrewd transfer window, seemingly moving from the transfer policy of the past.
Whether this was merely down to financial restraints or is indeed the start of a new transfer strategy to Selhurst Park remains to be seen.
Since returning to the Premier League, Palace have at times taken the option of ‘going big’ on one or two players in a window rather than stretching the budget to sign a few players at a smaller price. This was evident with the signings of Christian Benteke and Mamadou Sakho, for a combined price of about £55million.
Although this of course means we have some real quality firepower in the dressing room, it has at times meant that the squad has been weakened, as backup in other areas has been neglected, whilst also putting enormous pressure on these big money signings to perform. This weakness was exposed badly last season, where a spate of injuries left our squad threadbare for much of the season, and the backups coming in at times not being of the quality needed, with results suffering consequently.
This summer however saw a change in strategy, with Cheikhou Kouyate, Max Meyer, Jordan Ayew and Vicente Guaita all coming in for a combined total of only £10million, not only replacing the departed figures of Chung-yong Lee, Bakary Sako, Yohan Cabaye and Damien Delaney, but also bringing a far deeper depth of talent to the squad. This was shown by the bench against Liverpool on Monday night, with the options being the strongest a Palace side have ever had to call on. Palace now, for the first time, have at least two quality options in every position, and the players versatility should allow Roy Hodgson to switch things around tactically as the season progresses.
Although Palace fans will be hoping that the budget over the next few windows will not be quite so restricted, and that this was merely a result of being limited by Financial Fair Play regulation, the way the money was used should be appreciated. It seemed as if Palace learnt their lesson from last summer, spending the majority of the budget on Sakho on deadline day but failed to strengthen in other areas, such as a backup striker, leading to a struggle for results in the first half of the season and strengthening in January.
Knowing the limits of their budget, rather than spending all of it on a headline grabbing target such as Danny Ings or Michail Antonio, the Eagles identified the holes in their squad that needed filling and acted accordingly, leading to a much more rounded squad.
Indeed, this window has been reminiscent of Palace’s perhaps two best windows since promotion, January 2017, where key players Jeffrey Schlupp, Patrick van Aanholt, captain Luka Milivojevic and Mamadou Sakho (on loan) all arrived, as well as January 2014, where long standing Palace heroes Scott Dann, Jason Puncheon, Wayne Hennessey and Joe Ledley came in.
The main difference between these and now is that now, Palace have done their business at the start of the season, and (touch wood!) are far better equipped to deal with injuries or suspensions for a whole campaign.
If this strategy is continued, coupled with a slightly bigger budget in summers to come, the horizon can only be bright for Palace, as the club become a fully established Premier League side, with a squad of players pushing for places and capable of stepping in when needed.
Long may it continue.
