Fears that Crystal Palace would miss Joachim Andersen prove unfounded ahead of defender’s SE25 return with Fulham
BY EDMUND BRACK
edmund@slpmedia.co.uk
An argument was put forward that the August departure of Joachim Andersen to Premier League rivals Fulham was the main reason behind Crystal Palace’s poor start to the Premier League campaign.
The Danish defender had been a mainstay in the Palace starting line-up after joining from Lyon at the start of the 2021-22 season and racked up 113 appearances under Patrick Vieira, Roy Hodgson and Oliver Glasner.
Andersen also started the season as Palace captain and played in the 2-1 defeat at Brentford on the opening weekend.
After Palace’s eighth Premier League game without a win – a 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest live on Monday Night Football – Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane said: “The one player who I believe Crystal Palace are missing more than the others, and I know they sold him, is Joachim Andersen.
“He’s a huge loss to them. He’s a calming presence and he can score a goal. I know they had to sell a few players and bring in some cash, but losing him was massive for them.”
The west Londoners convinced Palace to part with Andersen after they lodged a £30million bid.
For a 28-year-old defender heading into the final two years of his deal at Selhurst Park, it was an offer Palace felt they could not refuse.
The west Londoners agreed to hand Andersen a deal that would potentially take him into 2030 – when the former Sampdoria defender will be 34.
Our paper also reported at the time of the transfer being signed off that Fulham had agreed to pay Andersen a deal of around £120,000 a week in wages.
Andersen admitted his disappointment at Palace’s reluctance to match Fulham’s offer, but the deal would have seen him banking more than top earners Daichi Kamada, Eberechi Eze, Eddie Nketiah and Dean Henderson.
Yet as Andersen gets set to head back to Selhurst Park for the first time since leaving, Keane’s comments could not be further from the truth.
It has taken a few outings to find the right placement and balance between Marc Guehi, Trevoh Chalobah and Maxence Lacroix, but the Eagles look to have found a trio who really complement the manager’s style of play.
Palace managed to keep hold of Guehi after a relentless summer of bids from Newcastle United, who reached a deal in the region of £65m in their pursuit of trying to land the England defender.
Guehi had reservations over a move to the north and Palace’s valuation of the former Chelsea defender increased after Andersen’s departure.
The 23-year-old Eagles captain has been back to his best in recent weeks after playing a pivotal role in helping England to the final of Euro 2024 in his first major international tournament.
Palace bolstered their defensive options on deadline day with the £18m arrival of Lacroix and a season-long loan signing of Chelsea’s Chalobah.
Both had slow starts to their Crystal Palace careers. Lacroix, who had worked with Glasner during their time together at Wolfsburg, looked like a player getting to grips with English football in his first handful of games.
The 24-year-old also arrived at Selhurst Park on the back of picking up a minor foot injury in his final game for Wolfsburg in their DFB Pokal clash against TuS Koblenz.
But a switch to a central role in the back three for Lacroix against Nottingham Forest appears to have unlocked the best of the French defender. He was imperious in the 1-0 win over Tottenham – Palace’s first three points of the season.
Lacroix has also looked comfortable being the central figure in the EFL Cup win at Aston Villa and the 2-2 draw at Wolves on Saturday evening. His passing range and ability to hit the wing-backs with pinpoint accuracy also offsets what the Eagles lost with Andersen’s on-the-ball ability.
The former FC Sochaux centre-back, who is 6ft 3in tall, also helps make Palace a threat from crossing situations again – he set up Guehi’s goal at Everton with a header back across goal from an Adam Wharton inswinger.
Although there are clear deficiencies in the squad, with Lacroix’s age and the five-year deal behind him, early signs are showing that Palace may have struck gold once again in the transfer market.
Chalobah arrived at SE25 without a pre-season behind him after being axed from Blues first-team duty during their tour of the USA.
The 25-year-old also suffered an abdominal injury in his first Palace training session and made his first start in the 1-0 defeat against Liverpool.
Despite being at fault for the goal – allowing Jota to get ahead of him to meet a Cody Gakpo cross – he has grown more commanding game by game.
His natural pace and past experience of playing at right-back allows for Daniel Munoz to venture forward and join in on the attacking phase of play – a key component behind Palace’s change in form in their last three outings.
Similar to Lacroix, Chalobah, who is 6ft 4ins tall, makes Palace even more formidable from dead-ball situations.
He netted his first Palace goal from a free-kick routine that saw the ball land to him at the back post – slamming a shot into Jose Sa’s net to give Palace the lead at Molineux on Saturday.
Guehi, Chalobah and Lacroix could end up forming the best defensive combination since Palace won promotion to the Premier League in 2013.
MAIN PICTURE: PA