Read our 2026/27 season preview for Crystal Palace after their Conference League win as Oliver Glasner bade the club farewell.
The Eagles started the season reeling from their disqualification from the Europa League, forcing them into the Conference League, but the move worked out in the end with Palace lifting a first European trophy.
Glasner announced his decision to leave at the end of the season, with Pierre Sage given the unenviable task of taking the reins from the Austrian.
Key question
Can Pierre Sage pick up from Oliver Glasner?
Crystal Palace’s biggest loss over the last few years wasn’t Eberechi Eze or Michael Olise or Marc Guehi, nor was it Oliver Glasner, but the man who brought all of them to the club: Dougie Freedman.
Freedman was turning Palace into something of a Brighton where they could buy low and sell high and provide a firm financial footing for the club, but his departure could signal the start of a downturn for the Eagles, especially having lost Glasner.
Pierre Sage steps into the dugout and his style of football might not be all that different from Glasner, likely deploying a 3-4-2-1 and providing some continuity. A second season of European football means the club needs more reinforcements, but if they can buy well, they’ve a chance of building on last season as opposed to regressing.
Key transfer
Anan Khalaili
Able to operate as a winger or wing-back, Anan Khalaili is a dynamic operator who will add another dimension to Palace's attacking play.
The 21-year-old Israel international is set to fill the position of Daniel Munoz on the right flank of Pierre Sage's side and he has big shoes to fill given the Colombian's contributions over the previous two-and-a-half years.
Fleet-footed with sharp acceleration and excellent dribbling ability, Khalaili showcased his eye for goal during a productive two-year stint in Belgium with Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, scoring three goals in six UEFA Champions League appearances last season.
Palace have unearthed several gems over the years and Khalaili has all of the attributes to flourish at Selhurst Park.
Breakout star
Jaydee Canvot
It would be fair to say Jaydee Canvot didn’t exactly hit the ground running following a not-insignificant £20m move from Toulouse last summer, but his development as the season progressed provides Eagles fans with plenty of optimism ahead of the new campaign.
There was an understandable rawness about the then-19-year-old but his maturity, particularly following the departure of Marc Guehi, suggests he could have a big role to play at Selhurst Park this season.
Maxence Lacroix is the latest defender to leave Selhurst Park, and while it further solidifies the 20-year-old's place in the team, it does leave him without a more experienced figure in the back line.
Representing France from under-16 to under-21 level, a call up to the senior squad might be within Canvot’s reach this season.
What is a good season?
Top-half finish; Europa League run
Crystal Palace were never in any relegation danger last season and put all their eggs in the Conference League basket as the campaign progressed, ultimately finishing 15th.
European football tends to hamper smaller clubs – and even bigger clubs on occasion – and the Europa League will be tough for new boss Pierre Sage to navigate.
Returning to the European places via the front door will be a tough ask, but a top-half finish and a good run in the Europa League represents a successful season for the Eagles.
Bold prediction
Ellis Statham
To battle relegation
There can only be so many important exits at one club before it inevitably impedes your progress, and Crystal Palace could be about to come unstuck in the 2026/27 campaign.
From the departure of sporting director Dougie Freedman to manager Oliver Glasner, the core of the South London outfit has been ripped apart in recent times and so far they’ve showed few signs of putting it back together.
Freedman’s successor, Matt Hobbs, is yet to show any signs that he can efficiently recruit at Selhurst Park – overseeing the overpriced additions of Jorgen Strand Larsen and Brennan Johnson – and at a selling club like Crystal Palace, this is a huge problem.
Combine this with the fact that Maxence Lacroix and Adam Wharton are heavily linked with the exit door and the problem becomes even bigger, especially heading into a season where a minimum of 48 games will be played.
The standard of newly-promoted sides is improving – as proven by the survival of Leeds United and Sunderland last campaign – and the Eagles could be pulled into a relegation dog fight under the stewardship of Pierre Sage, who is a stranger to England’s top-flight.
Will they be better than last season?
Liam Williams
No.
Crystal Palace can aim higher than 15th in the Premier League, but would that mean they were better than last season when they won a European trophy?
At the moment, it’s hard to trust Palace in the transfer market; while Canvot will likely make a tidy profit when the time comes, this is a club that signed Brennan Johnson and Jorgen Strand Larsen last season for nearly £100m.
Having lost Glasner and made the step up in European competition, if Palace can feel they’re in the same place in a year’s time as they are now, they can likely call that a successful season.
