Why Chelsea FINALLY Turned A Corner.
When 11pm struck on transfer deadline day, the general feeling amongst Crystal Palace fans was one of disappointment.
There were desperate cries for a proper No.9 throughout the day – and also throughout the entire summer – but despite a late push for PSG No.44 Hugo Ekitike, no new striker arrived.
Nevertheless, Odsonne Edouard silenced those demanding a new frontman by scoring twice in the 3-2 win over Wolves on Sunday, and in hindsight, two bits of business carried out by Dougie Freedman may save Crystal Palace millions going forwards.
What’s the story?
Well, a new striker would have been nice, although we cannot ignore the deals Steve Parish and Freedman did complete.
The summer started with a shrewd swoop for Jefferson Lerma on a free transfer, and was followed up by an exciting £26m move for Brazilian wonderkid Matheus Franca.
However, it was Freedman’s last two deals which stand out as moments of opportunistic poaching.
Dean Henderson and Rob Holding deals were shrewd by Crystal Palace
Firstly, an initial £15m was spent on Dean Henderson. Many actually complained about this deal and felt that a new striker should be signed with this money.
However, goalkeepers are much safer investments than strikers. Before Manchester United caused his career to stagnate through poor planning, there was talk of Henderson becoming England’s No.1 one day, and at the age of just 26, he can still achieve this.
Effectively, we have swapped a 36-year-old in Vicente Guaita for someone ten years younger, who has the quality to be our No.1 for the next decade.
Signing Henderson now also means we have avoided being backed into a corner in future and being charged a fortune for a glovesman of this quality, at a time where we may have come across more desperate.
In regards to Holding, this was also a clever move.
Freedman’s swoop for the 27-year-old did not attract much excitement on social media, although look at it this way.
We have managed to sign a long-term replacement for the 34-year-old James Tomkins, who boasts 98 Premier League appearances, two FA Cup winners medals and also experience of European football, all for just £1m upfront.
To snap up Henderson and Holding – two highly experienced players with plenty of time on their side to improve – for a combined £16m is fine work, to say the least, and could save us millions going forwards.
Of course, a new striker would have been welcomed at Selhurst Park, but we cannot ignore what Freedman did manage to pull off in the summer transfer window on a limited budget.
