Crystal Palace could lose a key trio of players this summer
TEAMtalk have been told that Crystal Palace face the growing risk of losing three or four crucial players due to the current release clauses and sell-on clauses in their contracts.
The Eagles finished the season in sensational fashion under Oliver Glasner, winning five of their last six games to secure a top-10 Premier League finish. Indeed, their form was that good it was only bettered by title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal in the run-in.
A key part of that superb run was the attacking threat provided by the forward line of Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The latter scored nine goals in those last six games to finish with an impressive 19 for the season, but it was mainly the link-up play between Olise and Eze that everyone was talking about.
The creative pair had 33 goal involvements between them this past season, with Olise notching 10 goals and six assists, while Eze managed to find the net 11 times and laid on the same number of assists for his teammates at Selhurst Park.
That end-of-season-run has only heightened speculation over the pair, especially given their respective release clauses of just £60million respectively – a figure that looks an absolute steal right now.
Chelsea remain favourites for Olise
That figure has certainly attracted plenty of high-profile suitors, with Chelsea, as TEAMtalk previously reported, right at the front of the queue for Olise’s signature.
Enzo Maresca wants to make the winger one of his first additions as the latest Blues boss to try and bring success back to the Stamford Bridge outfit.
Manchester United are also keen on a player who has yet to make up his mind on his future, although Eze is also on Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s radar.
At this stage, it looks like Tottenham are closing in on the England playmaker and are aiming to strike a deal early in the summer window before Eze puts his huge talent on show at the bigger stage of Euro 2024.
Ange Postecoglou is a huge fan of the 25-year-old having been hugely impressed with his performance in Spurs’ come-from-behind win over Palace back in early March when Eze opened the scoring with a stunning free-kick.
However, TT understands that Manchester City cannot be completely ruled out of making a late move for the player as they ponder the sale of Jack Grealish.
Man Utd continue Guehi hunt
The last of the trio mentioned, Guehi, remains a top target for Manchester United as they look to rebuild a defence that had its troubles this past season.
Guehi and Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite are the top two centre-back targets for Ratcliffe, and while the former does not have an actual release clause at Selhurst Park – Chelsea do have a sell-on clause in place, should he be sold.
The Blues wisely had a 25 percent sell-on clause inserted into the then 20-year-old’s contract when he made his £18m move to Palace in 2021. That could end up netting them a tidy sum, given that the England defender is currently valued at between £50-60m.
It’s also worth mentioning Bayern Munich’s continued interest in Adam Wharton, who only arrived at Selhurst in January but made such a big impression to earn a place in England’s squad for Euro 2024.
However, we understand that new Bayern boss Vincent Kompany has his focus on other targets for now, but could still come calling for the former Blackburn man at a later date.
