Opinion: Crystal Palace bolster key area early on with the signing of Chadi Riad

BY ALEX PEWTER

The arrival of Chadi Riad to Crystal Palace may have been long-awaited, but it is markedly early business for the club.

With Daichi Kamada soon to follow, it is an important signal of intent early in the summer from a team often accused of doing the opposite.

The club may never have had the strength in depth it currently has at central defender. It already boasts three international players, each representing their national teams this summer and with veteran experience in reserve.

The Oliver Glasner tactical switch had the most impact on the makeup of Crystal Palace’s defence. Having to spread the existing central defender depth across three, rather than two roles, forced Glasner to find creative ways to fill that void.

His decision to turn to Jefferson Lerma and Nathaniel Clyne was an undoubted success, earning the latter a deserved contract extension – but acquiring Riad, or a player of that ilk, was still a priority for the club.

It’s easy to understand why the Moroccan international ticked the boxes. Whilst he may not be the exact Dougie Freedman prototypical signing, he arrives with a wealth of game time at 21.

The 24 starts in La Liga are at a higher standard than that of the Championship arrivals, with appearances in the Spanish 3rd tier for the Barcelona B side.

With the head coach that appears to lean into size and speed as desired prerequisites, Riad has the added value of being an oft-sought-after left-footed defender. That would make him the natural successor for the “Marc Guehi” role, but currently, he is without the pressure to be an immediate starter.

Whilst there will be time to assess the new arrival as a player across the summer, there is an immediate knock-on effort to the squad itself.

Glasner’s best trio of central defenders on paper, Joachim Andersen, Marc Guehi and Chris Richards, have yet to play together in this system in their natural roles. They will also be attracting interest this summer.

Guehi and Andersen, with two years to run on their original deals, are entering the ideal re-signing territory for the club, or in Guehi’s case, is likely to be at his peak potential sale price.

If there were any concerns that his knee injury and lack of playing time to close the season would suppress Guehi’s transfer value, his starting role within the England team for Euro 2024 would more than offset that.

Chairman Steve Parish and the club may have every intention to retain each of their star players, but it is clear that the initial transfer moves this summer are acting as insurance policies for potential losses. It’s difficult to challenge that proactive intention.