‘Rob Holding finally handed Crystal Palace solution as MLS side approach’
MLS side Colorado Rapids look set to offer an escape from Crystal Palace for Rob Holding.
Holding joined the Eagles from Arsenal in January 2023 but has made just one senior appearance for the club to date.
The centre-back was banished from Palace’s first team squad following a falling out with Oliver Glasner in August 2024, spending the remainder of the year with the club’s U21s.
Holding then went on loan to Championship side Sheffield United, where he made 11 appearances across all competitions to help the Blades reach the playoff final, where they lost 1-0 to Sunderland.
Colorado Rapids weighing up Rob Holding bid
Holding still has one more year left to run on his current Palace deal but has effectively zero chance of playing for the club again.
Still only 29 years old, the defender will feel he still has plenty to offer to the right club and will be actively seeking a move away from Selhurst Park.
| Crystal Palace stats | Rob Holding |
| Appearances | 1 |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Goals + assists | 0 |
According to Bobby Manzi, MLS side Colorado Rapids are ‘exploring a move’ for Holding (22 July).
The Stalybridge-born defender is available for a nominal fee, and will offer significant experience to the Rapids’ backline as they seek to consolidate their MLS Cup Playoffs spot.
Should he make the move to Denver, Holding would join winger Calvin Harris as the second Englishman on the Rapids roster, while the club have had a further eight English players represent them previously — including Jack Price and ex-Three Lions defender Zat Knight.
Crystal Palace set for appeal defeat against Uefa
Crystal Palace supporters enjoyed absolute euphoria when they lifted the FA Cup last season, ending their long, long wait for a major trophy.
The Eagles faithful also knew they had a first-ever European campaign to look forward to, though now, the gloss has been taken off somewhat.
Palace were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League after John Textor was found to be in breach of Uefa’s multi-club ownership rules.
The Londoners are appealing against the decision, but football finance expert Stefan Borson believes their remonstrations will fall on deaf ears.
“They are obviously going to try and unwind Uefa’s conclusion in respect to decisive influence,” Borson told Football Insider.
“The question of decisive influence is a question of fact and a question of evidence and, at the moment, the evidence that’s being reviewed by Uefa’s CFCB, the body that adjudicates that evidence and those rules, has concluded in their view with what’s known as comfortable satisfaction, even more than a balance of probabilities.
“In their view, they have proved, and it’s important that the burden of proof, i.e. the party that has to prove it, is the CFCB. It’s not for Palace to prove that there is no decisive control.
“The burden of proof was on Uefa, so it is not straightforward for Uefa to have established that Crystal Palace have an issue in this respect. So, once they have established it, they obviously think they’ve got very strong evidence.
“Therefore, when it goes to CAS, it is going to be difficult for Crystal Palace to unwind that conclusion. Crystal Palace probably will have to show either that the CFCB misunderstood or missed completely a key part of the evidence.“