Oliver Glasner has thrown his Crystal Palace future into doubt by hinting he could follow his stars out of the door. The Eagles have endured a rollercoaster summer despite winning last season’s FA Cup.
They have been embroiled in a legal battle with UEFA having been stripped of their place in the Europa League due to multi-club ownership rules. And that has had a knock-on effect on their summer business.
Just two players have arrived - Borna Sosa from Ajax and goalkeeper Walter Benitez - while Palace’s star players continue to be linked with exits. Eberechi Eze is being eyed by Arsenal, with captain Marc Guehi the subject of interest from Liverpool.
Recent reports have claimed that the Reds are in pole position for the ex-Chelsea man, who has a year left on his contract. And now, Glasner has hinted that if the defender leaves, he could follow him out of the door.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield clash with Crystal Palace, the Austrian said: "Marc and me - we have the same fate. I can't speak, you have to ask Marc. At the end, it's always the player's decision.
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"Marc decides about his future. Of course, everybody wants Marc to sign a new contract. It will be his decision. Everybody wants to keep this squad together as it did so well. I don't know how often this happens here at Palace.
"We never know what will happen in this sometimes crazy transfer market." Asked if his decision hinges on the rest of the window, Glasner replied: “We will see.”
On Palace’s lack of action so far, he added: “I said if we want to be better than last year, then it's my advice, ‘Let's sign at least two players, then we can achieve this’. To be competitive in four competitions. If somebody thinks that's nonsense, OK, let's see.
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“If Crystal Palace wants to play European football, wants to climb the Premier League table and reproduce the success again, it's just what you have to do. Everybody knows this in the building.
“Of course, it helps if players are in early when you start with pre-season because here you have time to train. We are quite passive. We are short of numbers, we have to add players, especially with quality.”
Palace get their new season underway at Wembley on Sunday ahead of beginning their Premier League campaign against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a week’s time. Eze’s future could potentially be decided by then.
The England winger has a £62.5m release clause written into his contract at Selhurst Park, albeit that only remains active until August 15. And should no club make a move before then, Palace are expected to demand considerably more than that.
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