Exclusive: Crystal Palace transfer window moves rest on UEFA ban decision
Crystal Palace’s transfer activity this summer will “depend on whatever the verdict” UEFA deliver as they face expulsion from European football.
That is the view of football finance expert Dan Plumley, who explained to Football Insider exclusively that European football gives the club “the ability to spend differently”.
Heading into the summer transfer window, Palace would have been looking at ways to improve their squad ahead of their first voyage into continental football.
But that has been flipped on its head, due to John Textor being the majority shareholder of both the Eagles and French side Lyon.
The American businessman’s majority ownership of both clubs violates UEFA’s rules on multi-club ownership, as both teams have qualified for the Europa League and cannot play in the same competition at the same time.
Given Lyon finished higher in their respective domestic league, they take precedence for entry into UEFA’s second-tier competition over the South London club.
Textor had the opportunity to move his Palace shares into a blind trust in March, but failed to do so, meaning the club now faces the very real possibility of being barred from entry into the Europa League.
The American businessman is currently weighing up multiple bids for his shares, including from New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, as the Eagles look for a solution to their issue [The Telegraph].
Should they fail to find a fix, Nottingham Forest would be in line to compete in the Europa League instead, and sensing an opportunity, the Tricky Trees have written a letter to UEFA expressing their concerns about Palace competing in the competition.
And worryingly for Oliver Glasner‘s side, the European governing body’s decision could play a part on how active the club are able to be in the transfer market this summer.
Crystal Palace may need to revert transfer budget
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, finance expert Plumley explained that whilst European football would not have been something the club budgeted for, Palace’s transfer activity “will depend on whatever the verdict is”.
He said: “Budget-wise, ultimately, what they’ll have been looking at throughout the season is actually that would have been a bit of a bonus anyway, because they wouldn’t have been planning to compete in Europe.
“Or at least I don’t think, I might be speaking out of turn here, but my guess would be if they did have that on the budget scenario, it would have been the best case scenario.
“Budget-wise, it’s probably a bit of a bonus for them anyway and if you kind of then look at both sides of that, if they do manage to get into the competition, then it gives them the ability to spend differently in the market, given the revenue that they’ve got and also given some of the players that they would want to target now they’ve got European football.
“If they don’t have that, they would need to go back to the budget as it was and the way they’ve run the club in recent years.
“It will depend on whatever the verdict is on how active they are in the market.
“But in terms of revenue generation alone, the difference is going to be somewhere in the region of about €15-20m.”
Burnley slap £50m price-tag on Maxime Esteve as Crystal Palace wait to find out transfer budget
With the uncertainty surrounding their transfer budget, the Eagles may struggle to secure their targets this summer.
Pete O’Rourke revealed to Football Insider Burnley had placed a £50m price-tag on Palace and Everton target Maxime Esteve.
The Eagles are going to need a replacement for captain Marc Guehi this summer, but the asking price for the Frenchman may be difficult to achieve, especially if the club are barred from European competition.