Oliver Glasner has glumly admitted that Crystal Palace “could have done much better” in the summer transfer window after leaving themselves precious little time to replace Arsenal-bound Eberechi Eze and Marc Guéhi, who could join Liverpool.
Arsenal had shown interest in Eze for several months but moved for the player earlier this week when it appeared that north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur were on the brink of a deal.
Palace will bank a considerable sum for the attacking midfielder/winger, four times the £17 million ($22.8 million) they paid for him in 2020. But Glasner’s gripe is that the club knew there was a high chance Eze would be on the move this summer, and didn’t proactively secure a replacement.
“We missed replacing him early. That’s completely our fault and nobody else’s fault,” Glasner conceded after Palace won 1–0, without Eze, in the first leg of their Conference League play-off against Norwegian side Fredrikstad on Thursday night.
“We are very, very late. It’s 10 days to go [until the transfer deadline] to find the right replacements. I think we could have done much better than we did. It’s no criticism, it’s just telling facts.”
Guéhi’s future is still up in the air. The Palace captain has entered the final 12 months of his contract and appears to have little desire to sign a new one as he targets spending his peak years at a bigger club. Liverpool could launch an approach in what remains of the transfer window, but Glasner is keen for Guéhi to stay until the Eagles have played the second Fredrikstad leg on August 28 due to already having a lack of other numbers in the squad.
At that point, it would then be a desperate race against time to secure a new centre back by the time window closes on September 1.
"We had 17 on-field players available. One from the academy, two players we already told that they should leave the club. So that means we're with 14 and having six games from the 10th of August until the 31st.
"This group, I know we can rely on them. I trust them completely. But it's really not the best way you should start into the season. With the results, third game, no defeat, that's all good. But I think we are below the edge.
"I just know if Marc leaves and is not available for Frederikstad, we will have big troubles,” Glasner added, discussing Palace’s lack of numbers. “That’s pretty clear. We can’t register anyone [for the second leg]. So from my side, he has to stay. We played with Jeff Lerma in the back [in the first leg]. He’s a midfield player. We have no centre back available at the moment. If Marc leaves, I will try my boots because I was a centre back, and this could be a good option. I will think about it,” he joked.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘It’s Telling Facts’—Crystal Palace Manager Vents at Late Eze, Guehi Movement.
