Crystal Palace let Joachim Andersen go in the summer, and now he’s set for a Selhurst Park return.
During the summer, all signs suggested that Marc Guehi would be sold as Newcastle United pushed for his signature.
However, it was quite a shock when Guehi ultimately remained at the club as Joachim Andersen departed.
Crystal Palace sold Andersen to Fulham for £30m in a deal which saw the most experienced member of the Eagles’ preferred backline suddenly gone.
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Now, the Danish international is preparing to return to his old stomping ground as Crystal Palace takes on Fulham.
What Oliver Glasner has now said about Joachim Andersen
After departing amicably, with the finances being used well – Andersen likely expects a pleasant atmosphere upon his return and it would be a shock if he were to be booed.
Ahead of the game, Eagles boss Oliver Glasner has been discussing Andersen and explained he is looking forward to reuniting on Saturday afternoon.
“I’m really looking forward to meeting Joachim again. Great guy”, Glasner told press on Friday.
“He had a very good time at Palace and he was also a great player for me and for our staff since we arrived.
“There will be no friendship during the 90 or during the 100 minutes.”
While happy to see him, with goal issues plaguing the Palace campaign, Glasner will be hoping Andersen has an absolute horror show on his return to Selhurst Park.
Maxence Lacroix has been an excellent Andersen replacement this season
Losing a footballer of Andersen’s quality was always going to be a blow and tough to replace for Crystal Palace – which could be seen in the early weeks after his exit with struggles apparent.
However, looking back now, it was a great decision from the club considering how excellent both Maxence Lacroix and Trevoh Chalobah have been since their arrivals.
READ MORE: Who is Maxence Lacroix? Get to know the pacey Crystal Palace defender with a TikTok lookalike
Lacroix in particular has brought the excellent passing that we assumed would be missed without Andersen – while he has also brought some leadership and passion to the backline.
It has been far from an ideal start to life, but there is a feeling that anything good the Eagles achieve this season, Lacroix will be right at the centre of it.
