Crystal Palace made a number of bold decisions during the summer transfer window.
After such a strong end to the 2023/24 campaign – which involved six wins and one draw from the final seven Premier League outings – Crystal Palace decided to sell Joachim Andersen to Fulham in a £30m deal.
Bayern Munich also pinched Michael Olise from Selhurst Park – although that was not exactly a club decision, given the France international’s fixed £50m release clause.
Jordan Ayew, Sam Johnstone, Jairo Riedewald and James Tomkins – who Wolves could sign – also left SE25 over the summer, with the vast turnover affecting results, leaving us sat 18th in the Premier League.
Now, Gabriel Agbonlahor has admitted his surprise at one “strange decision” from Crystal Palace made back in August…
Gabriel Agbonlahor questions why Crystal Palace sold Joachim Andersen to Fulham
The 37-year-old has pointed the finger at Crystal Palace for selling Andersen to Fulham, after naming the Denmark international in his Team of the Week on talkSPORT.
Agbonlahor said: “Strange decision from Palace to sell a defender like Andersen, him and Guehi were so good together. His distribution is probably top three in the Premier League, how he can pass out from the back, his long range passing, his composure, but also defensively, you know, he was outstanding against Nottingham Forest. A clean sheet and a 1-0 win for his team.”
Luka Milivojevic was surprised to see Crystal Palace sell Andersen too, expressing his shock at the news on Instagram.
The Dane has since made three Premier League appearances for Fulham, helping the Cottagers secure seven points from encounters against West Ham, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest.
Steve Parish was right to sell Andersen
Of course, the decision looks like a poor one as things stand, with Fulham sitting sixth as we languish in 18th place.
However, it was the correct call.
Andersen was upset with Crystal Palace for not matching Fulham’s contract offer, which is believed to be worth over £150,000-a-week across five years, keeping him in west London until the age of 33.
At the moment, Oliver Glasner is missing the 28-year-old’s leadership qualities as the backline looks disorganised, but once Maxence Lacroix and Trevoh Chalobah gel alongside Marc Guehi, we believe people will look back on this sale and feel it was the right decision.
From a business perspective more than anything, it made sense to offload a player close to his thirties who was asking for around £150,000-a-week, and bring in Lacroix, who is four years younger, on a salary of £50,000-a-week for a fee of £15m.
Hopefully, time will prove us right.
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