Why Oliver Glasner believes Crystal Palace 'threw away' chance at a better season after decisions made in summer transfer window

Oliver Glasner says that Crystal Palace "threw away" a chance at a better season after choosing to save cash instead of investing in the summer transfer window. The Eagles followed up their FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City by selling star midfielder Eberechi Eze. To make matters worse, they reportedly almost allowed captain Marc Guehi to leave and join Liverpool.

Oliver Glasner launched a scathing attack on Crystal Palace’s summer transfer business after his side fell to a 2-1 defeat against Manchester United.

The Eagles were beaten by the same scoreline at Strasbourg in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday, but they made an excellent start at Selhurst Park when Jean-Philippe Mateta won and converted a first-half penalty.

Glasner’s side looked like a different team after the break, though, setting the stage for Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount to score and secure an impressive comeback victory for The Red Devils.

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Palace have followed up their three other appearances in the Conference League with defeats against Everton and Arsenal, as well as a 0-0 draw with bitter rivals Brighton & Hove Albion.

Glasner believes that his squad did not get the support they needed to take the next step following their triumph in the FA Cup final at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

"I think it was what we missed in the summer, definitely," he said.

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"I never talked about it until now, but everything that has happened was pretty clear.

"If you play European football for the first time in your club’s history, I think the right answer is to invest and not save, and we saved.

"That is what we are facing.

"The players, this group of players have given everything every single day, but I think this group of players did not get the right support."

The defeat saw Ruben Amorim’s side leapfrog Palace in the Premier League table.

The Eagles will play eight fixtures in the month of December, including Conference League clashes with Shelbourne and KuPS.

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Palace need to win both those matches to guarantee they progress past the league phase of the competition.

The south London club will also face Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup on December 23.

On top of that, they will go head-to-head with Burnley, Fulham, Manchester City, Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

Palace sold Eberechi Eze to Arsenal in the summer, and they also came close to letting club captain Marc Guéhi leave to join Liverpool.

Eze, who scored the winning goal in Palace’s FA Cup final victory against Manchester City, was replaced by Spain international Yeremy Pino.

Palace also appear to have made a shrewd acquisition in the form of Frenchman Jaydee Canvot, who was brought in from Toulouse.

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However, Borna Sosa, Walter Benitez, and Christantus Uche have all struggled to make an impact at Selhurst Park.

Glasner believes that his team are still in a good position in the 2025/26 season.

However, he fears that the club "threw away" the opportunity at something even more remarkable in the summer.

"I know we will stick together, and we will work hard to change this," he added.

"We are still in very good positions.

"But again, the chance to play an even better season, we threw away in the summer."

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