Crystal Palace fans are over the moon after it was announced that Daichi Kamada had signed a new one-year contract.
The man born in Ehime has committed himself to Crystal Palace for the 2026/27 campaign despite the departure of Oliver Glasner, who previously managed the Japan international at Eintracht Frankfurt and again at Selhurst Park.
Kamada endured a tough start to life in SE25 following his arrival in July 2024 – but he has made himself absolutely crucial to the Eagles in the two years since his arrival.
How are we feeling about this news, Crystal Palace fans? 🔴 🔵
Could be one of the most important deals we do this summer 🦅
Crystal Palace have only won three out of 19 games without Daichi Kamada
The Crystal Palace No.18 has missed 19 games in total since arriving on a free transfer in July 2024 after a spell at Lazio.
Of those 19 games in which Kamada has been unavailable, the Eagles have only managed to win three.
The Japanese star’s importance to the side was made clear for all to see particularly in the middle of last season, when a hamstring injury saw him miss 11 games during the winter period – Crystal Palace failed to win a single one of those matches, memorably suffering embarrassing defeats to Macclesfield and Leeds without the influential midfielder.
As soon as Kamada returned, we were back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory away at Brighton.
The 29-year-old simply makes this Crystal Palace side tick.
Kamada has managed to overcome his lack of physicality – which looked likely to hinder him in English football at the start – in impressive fashion, moving the ball a lot faster and striking up a formidable partnership alongside Adam Wharton, which was a joy to watch during the win over Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig.
Make no mistake about it, Kamada endured a brutal start to life at Crystal Palace, with some fans treating him harshly on social media – comments he seemingly saw and addressed after scoring his first goal in a Carabao Cup win over Aston Villa.
He said: “I just keep trying.”
Has Oliver Glasner ruined his Crystal Palace legacy by moving to Nottingham Forest? 🤔
To go from that miserable situation to now being a fan favourite at Crystal Palace represents quite the turnaround – Kamada deserves plenty of credit for finding a way to succeed in SE25.
