Crystal Palace’s recruitment over the last couple of years has allowed the club to cement their place as a consistent mid-table side in the Premier League.
Whilst there may have been huge disappointment in losing star forward Michael Olise over the summer, his transfer to European giants Bayern Munich highlights how impressive their transfer business has been over the past few seasons.
The Frenchman moved to Selhurst Park in an £8m deal from then Championship side Reading, making a huge impact in the Eagles’ first team – scoring 16 times in his 90 appearances for the club.
Olise subsequently left Palace in a £50m deal this summer – allowing the club to net a £42m profit in three years – helping them invest in the next young prospect and hopefully replicate a deal for the 22-year-old.
However, despite the recent success in the transfer market, the Eagles have previously failed to make key additions, resulting in the signing of one player who never lived up to the hype in South London.
Zeki Fryers’ time at Crystal Palace
Left-back Zeki Fryers moved to Crystal Palace in a £3m deal from fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur during the summer of the 2014/15 season – arriving with real promise after his time at White Hart Lane.
However, the youngster failed to impress at Selhurst Park, only making two appearances during his debut campaign with the club.
He was sent on two separate loan spells during the same season to Championship sides Ipswich Town and Rotherham, before enjoying his most successful season with the Eagles during the 2016/17 season.
Fryers featured in 12 matches for Sam Allardyce’s side, appearing for 466 minutes during the entire campaign – further signalling his lack of impact during his time at Selhurst Park.
The aforementioned season would be his final at the club, departing on a free transfer upon the end of his contract, making a total of just 14 appearances for the first team over a three-year period.
The deal for the full-back looks even more embarrassing, especially when considering that the club were targeting a talent who has gone on to have a very successful stint in the Premier League.
The man who Palace decided against signing in 2014
Centre-back Virgil van Dijk has cemented himself as one of the best defenders in English top-flight history after his £75m transfer to Liverpool back in 2018.
The Netherlands international has won pretty much everything there is to win in England, including a Premier League title, and various League Cup and FA Cup trophies along the way.
The 33-year-old has amassed 276 appearances for the Reds, with his dominance at the back helping the club achieve the unimaginable under Jürgen Klopp.
Josko Gvardiol
£75m
Harry Maguire
£73m
Matthijs de Ligt
£71m
Virgil van Dijk
£70m
Wesley Fofana
£67m
However, the Eagles had the opportunity to sign the ace back in the 2014/15 season under Neil Warnock but rejected the chance to sign the defender whilst he was plying his trade for Celtic north of the border.
One that got away
The transfers that nearly happened but never did. This article is part of Football FanCast's One That Got Away series.
Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Warnock said: “He was at Celtic, I was at Palace, I sent [a scout] up to watch him at Celtic and he came back and said, ‘he’ll do for us’.
“I said to Steve Parish and the stats man that I want to sign Van Dijk for £3m. Parish, as with all of the other chairmen, rely on the stats man and he was saying ‘we don’t think he’s quick enough for the Premier League’.
“We didn’t sign him and Southampton signed him and ended up getting 70-odd million for him when Liverpool signed him.”
Given his success elsewhere, the club must regret not completing a deal for the defender with his talent undoubtedly improving the club’s backline in the Premier League.
This deal is evidence that sometimes deals should be completed without external interventions, but unfortunately for the Eagles – the Van Dijk move will always remain as one that got away.
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