Palace are undergoing a youth revolution at first team level with thirteen players such as Gary Cahill, Mamadou Sakho, Patrick van Aanholt and Scott Dann allowed to walk away at the expiration of their contracts. In their place have arrived exciting talents in the form of Michael Olise, Marc Guehi and Joachim Anderson. In addition the talented Conor Gallagher has arrived on a season long loan. Palace already had some youth talent, like Tyrick Mitchell and Eberechi Eze, so the future looks increasingly bright for the Eagles.
There is still room for more prospects in the first team and Crystal Palace have an exciting group of talents emerging. The U18 team finished in a creditable second position, beating out the likes of Chelsea and Tottenham, largely through the goals of eighteen year old David Omilabu while the U23 side has shone in preseason with Scott Banks and Rob Street impressing.
Unfortunately Nathan Ferguson, brought in from West Brom in 2020, has suffered another injury setback and may well miss his second full season since signing for Palace. The defender was in line to be the starting right back this season.
| U23 Projected Starters | |
|---|---|
| Pos | |
| GK | Oliver Webber |
| CB | Jay Rich-Baghuelou |
| CB | Jake O’Brien |
| RB | David Boateng |
| LB | Reece Hannam |
| CM | Malachi Boateng |
| CM | James Taylor |
| CM | Nya Kirby |
| RW | Jesurun Rak-Sakyi |
| LW | David Omilabu |
| CF | Robert Street |
| U18 Projected Starters | |
|---|---|
| Pos | |
| GK | Joe Whitworth |
| CB | Joe Sheridan |
| CB | Ryan Bartley |
| RB | Cameron Lewis-Brown |
| LB | Omotayo Adaramola |
| CM | Jack Wells-Morrison |
| CM | Jadan Raymond |
| CM | Kayden Rodney |
| RW | Maliq Cadogan |
| LW | Fionn Mooney |
| CF | Victor Akinwale |
Players in Profile - Three to Watch in 2021/2022
Scott Banks
- Position: AM
- Age: 19
- Nationality: Scottish
Signed from Dundee United in January 2020, Banks has spent time at Alloa and Dunfermline on loan before returning for preseason this year and making a good impact on the squad. Banks grabbed two goals in back-to-back friendlies, including a Ronaldo-esque free kick. New manager Patrick Vieria is said to be considering giving Banks a more permanent squad role but another loan spell is also possible. The Scotland U21 international is a classic attacking midfielder with good vision and technique that are enhanced when he plays around better and more technical players. If he stays at Crystal Palace for the season, it is possible he could take advantage of Eze’s injury in the hunt for minutes.
Jesuran Rak-Sakyi
- Position: LW
- Age: 18
- Nationality: English
Rak-Sakyi is considered the next big prospect to come out of the Crystal Palace youth system. Having left Chelsea at sixteen, Rak-Sakyi linked up with Crystal Palace and has become a leading light almost immediately. After an impressive U18 career - nine goals and eight assists in eighteen appearances - he progressed into the U23 set up and appeared on the substitutes bench for Palace’s first team last season. It’s a bit of a cliche to compare a winger coming through at Palace to Wilfreid Zaha but it is obvious with Rak-Sakyi that the Palace talisman has had some influence on his game - the two players even have a similar running style. Rak-Sakyi is the top talent at the Palace academy and word from the camp is that he will be allowed a chance to prove himself in the first team this year.
Malachi Boateng
- Position: DM
- Age: 19
- Nationality: English
Boateng was name-checked last season as one prospect very close to making a breakthrough at Palace in the near future. In pre-season he started in the defensive midfield role next to the experienced Cheikhou Kouyate and looked the more composed of the two. The U23 player of the season is a tough-tackling, simple passing type of a player and a very solid prospect. Having had no loan spells to date - and a relatively short youth career of just twenty-four U23 appearances - it is hard to gauge the relative talent level of Boateng but with the youth revolution at Selhurst Park, and Nya Kirby - once considered the leading talent - failing to impress, he may soon get an opportunity to prove it.