The good news for Crystal Palace keeps coming.
Firstly a run of seven games unbeaten at the end of the season, then fending off interest from Bayern Munich in their manager Oliver Glasner and now tying sporting director Dougie Freedman to a new contract amid strong overtures from Newcastle United.
Palace can be pleased that they have seen off such a huge club in Bayern and one of the world’s wealthiest in Newcastle to keep their two most important members of non-playing personnel. But it is Freedman’s new deal which will bring the most relief. Since his return to Palace in 2017 after two prior spells as a player and one as manager, there can be few, if any, in his recruitment position who can rival his success.
GO DEEPER
Freedman to stay at Palace after signing new contract
His record is outstanding. In recent seasons, the arrival of Marc Guehi, Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze has proven more than worth any risk of recruiting players whose highest level of prior experience was in the second-tier Championship.
Joachim Andersen has excelled, Jean-Philippe Mateta has burst into life under Glasner and is now attracting interest from across Europe and Chris Richards has come good after finally being handed an opportunity. Adam Wharton and Daniel Munoz have been revelations since arriving from Blackburn Rovers and Belgium’s Genk respectively in this season’s winter window.
All of these acquisitions were relatively low cost and have all contributed significantly on the pitch, excelling and ultimately pushing Palace to a top-half finish and their joint-highest-ever Premier League points total. Four of his signings — Guehi, Wharton, Eze and Dean Henderson — have been named in England’s provisional squad for the European Championship this summer.
Advertisement
Look through Palace’s players and, while there are additions required to add more depth, the bulk of the group consists of young prospects nurtured into something much better, and far more valuable, both on the pitch and in respect of their resale value. That is, after all, the model that Freedman has sought to implement: buy young, improve them and, when the time is right, sell for a significant profit. Then the cycle starts again.
The model only works with Freedman in charge of it, overseeing his team of 13 staff. Last summer, chairman Steve Parish told The High Performance Podcast that Freedman was the No 1 person he has hired in the 13 years he has been in charge of the club.
Even if any, or all, of Eze, Olise and Guehi depart this summer, Freedman’s recruitment record inspires faith that they will be adequately replaced. Not necessarily as like-for-likes — it is always about finding ‘the next one’ — but there can be trust that selling them would not completely derail the Palace project.
To do it within the confines of relatively tight financial constraints is a challenge but one that Freedman and his team have met. They have the lowest budget of the established Premier League clubs, although that is likely to increase this summer with player sales.
But the success of the players he recruits is seen as vindication for the model and the data which underpins the procurement.
Decisions are not taken lightly, either. Freedman and Parish are said to have a ‘cold-shower moment’ to check themselves when a deal does not necessarily feel right. Palace can’t afford to get many wrong, but signings which haven’t worked out have generally been low-cost and rare.
Freedman has the trust of Parish, built on a long-term relationship that stretches back to his spells as a coach and then the manager when Parish first took over as part of the 2010 consortium. That could not be said for those he would have worked with at Newcastle, while the expectation would also be significantly greater and the level of autonomy lower.
For Palace, this sends a positive message to prospective signings and suggests that Freedman is reassured he will have funds to work with. If there was no plan in place, then it is hard to believe he would have chosen to stay.
Palace are already trying to move quickly on transfers this summer. They are progressing with a deal to sign centre-back Chadi Riad from Real Betis in Spain, while there is interest in Daichi Kamada, whose contract with Italy’s Lazio will expire next month.
Advertisement
There are already compelling reasons for those in demand at Palace to stay. That includes Freedman. Now that he has committed his future to the club, there is an even stronger reason to be optimistic for the future.
Glasner — whose candidature to replace Roy Hodgson was pushed by Freedman, alongside co-owner John Textor — believes that to keep the best talent at the club, Palace must improve alongside them. The Austrian has transformed the club on the pitch in the last three months, and Freedman has done it off the pitch with the players he has brought in.
If the club do progress, Freedman’s decision to stay will be a major contributing factor.
GO DEEPER
Twenty-nine questions and a funeral: Decoding Dougie Freedman and Palace's transfer model
(Top photo: Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)
