Crystal Palace

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Honest Ahanor had the unusual distinction of being announced by two Premier League clubs - and featuring in two separate photoshoots, wearing two different badges - in a single day.

Ultimately, the arrangement agreed by all parties means Ahanor will play for Crystal Palace during the 2026-27 season.

It follows Chelsea's signing of centre-back Maxence Lacroix from their London rivals for £52m last month.

The Blues have also loaned Axel Disasi directly to Palace for a £3m fee.

Under Premier League rules, clubs may loan only one player to another club in the same division.

However, this arrangement, under which a player is purchased in 2027 but loaned by selling club Atalanta to Chelsea's preferred destination in the meantime, represents a workaround.

Chelsea have previously been accused of exploiting loopholes in Premier League regulations, including selling two hotels adjacent to Stamford Bridge and their women's team to companies within their ownership structure in order to comply with financial rules.

They also handed out unusually long contracts after the club's American owners took over in 2022, enabling transfer fees to be spread over a greater number of seasons.

In each case, the relevant regulations were subsequently amended.

However, Chelsea continue to seek innovative ways to recruit, develop and ultimately secure some of Europe's most promising young talent.

Read the full article here

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Millwall are working on a deal to re-sign attacker Romain Esse from Crystal Palace.

Esse joined Palace from the Lions in January 2025 but has struggled to establish himself and spent the second half of last season on loan at Coventry.

The winger could return to The Den before the transfer window closes with Lions winger Femi Azeez set to join Brighton.

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Crystal Palace are showing late interest in Mainz midfielder Kaishu Sano.

It is understood Palace have opened talks with the German club for the Japan international over a potential £30m deal.

Image source, Getty Images

Honest Ahanor has described Crystal Palace as "one of the best clubs for young players in the Premier League" after joining the Eagles on a season-long loan from Atalanta.

"I'm very happy to be here and to be a part of this great family," added the 18-year-old, who will move to Chelsea in a deal worth up to £40m next summer.

Ahanor is already a senior Italy international with two caps and made his senior debut in Serie A two years ago after coming through Genoa's youth system.

He joined Atalanta, where he has since played 35 times - including nine appearances in the Champions League - last summer.

Palace chairman Steve Parish said: "Honest is an exciting young talent whose arrival offers further competition for places ahead of another European campaign at Selhurst Park."

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Crystal Palace are attempting to hijack Sunderland's move for Lyon's Malick Fofana.

The winger had agreed to join the Black Cats in a deal worth just under £30m, but the Eagles have now made their own proposal.

It is now up to the the 21-year-old to decide as he travels to England for a medical, having been offered a five-year contract at the Stadium of Light.

Any deal would cost an initial £25.6m, with a potential £4.3m in add-ons.

Arsenal also attempted to sign Fofana, but the Premier League champions were unable to agree a fee with Lyon.

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea have announced that teenage defender Honest Ahanor will join the club in 2027 after spending the rest of this season on loan at Crystal Palace.

The Blues have agreed a deal worth up to £40m to sign Italy international Ahanor, 18, from Atalanta.

But he will not arrive at Stamford Bridge immediately.

Instead, Ahanor is set to join London rivals Crystal Palace on loan from his current club before officially becoming a Chelsea player next summer.

Chelsea first expressed an interest in Ahanor, 18, when they signed right-back Marco Palestra from the Serie A side in July.

He mainly plays at left-back and joined Atalanta from Genoa on a three-year deal last summer for a reported fee of 16m euros, plus 4m euros in add-ons.

He made 28 appearances in Serie A for Atalanta last season, establishing himself as a regular starter. He also made his Champions League debut in a 2-1 win against Club Brugge last September.

BBC Radio London will be bringing you a special show on later on Tuesday examining the transfer business done by Arsenal, Brentford, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Tottenham.

Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson, former EFL and National League defender Jamal Fyfield and journalist Charlotte Richardson will be the guests in the studio for the programme, which will run from 22:00 to 00:00 BST, taking in the 23:00 transfer deadline.

Watch the show here later

Image source, Getty Images

We asked you what transfer business Crystal Palace still need to complete before Tuesday's 23:00 BST deadline, especially after Monday's sale of Daniel Munoz.

Here are some of your comments:

Robin: Transfers should not be allowed after 1 August and certainly the window should close before the Premier League season has started.

Rich: Chaos again on the last day? Persuading players to come doesn't appear to be a problem, as they will all use us to further their careers...

Pat: I fear for Palace and Pierre Sage. Munoz was good business, but the squad was already thin on genuine talent and seems to be getting thinner. They struggled last season because of Europe and are in a far harder competition this time around, so strength in depth was needed. If Sage and Palace don't get anything from the next three or four games he's in trouble.

Paul: Are we going to have a team left? Against Manchester City we had just six from the 11 that played in the Conference League final. I really have no idea what is going on - and why doesn't the transfer window close before the season starts?

Dave: We have just had our pocket pinched. £22m for the best right wing-back in the league. I could have lived with £60m, regardless of age.

Les: If we don't buy some decent players, look forward to relegation. We can't keep selling and not replace them. It looks like we will lose Sarr. Wake up, Parish.

Tuesday is the final chance of the summer for your Premier League team to do transfer business.

The window closes at 23:00 BST, so teams - and fans - could be in for a late-night transfer scramble.

It has already been a busy window, but whether it turns out to be a day of transfer action or a pretty quiet one for your club, you will be able to keep across it all on BBC Sport.

Follow our live text coverage throughout the day here

Get alerts and keep up to date with all the latest news, insight and fan views for your club

Image source, Getty Images

After spending two years at Crystal Palace, Daniel Munoz has joined Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest for £22m.

The 30-year-old joined the Eagles in 2024 from Genk for £6.8m and won the FA Cup, Community Shield and Conference League during his time at the club.

Munoz represented Palace 83 times in the top flight, racking up 20 goal involvements.

With the transfer deadline looming on Tuesday at 23:00 BST, do Palace need to find a replacement for Munoz? Or should Sage's side target a different area before the deadline? And are there any more players who should be leaving?

Get in touch with your views here

Aadam Patel
Liverpool reporter

Image source, Getty Images

With Cody Gakpo's future up in the air, Liverpool have turned their attentions to Crystal Palace's Ismaila Sarr after having two bids for Yankuba Minteh rejected by Brighton.

The Seagulls want more than the £60m offered by Liverpool and it remains to be seen whether Andoni Iraola's side go back in for him.

Like the Minteh, Sarr is a right-sided winger and the Reds initially enquired about the Senegal international last week, but that was rebuffed by Crystal Palace.

Crystal Palace are determined to keep goalkeeper Dean Henderson, after a bid from Nottingham Forest. (Mail - subscription required, external)

Meanwhile Palace and Fulham are in talks over a move for Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Hugo Larsson, 22, with a fee of about £25m potentially enough to secure the Swede. (Teamtalk, external)

The Eagles have also revived talks with Marseille for 25-year-old Netherlands midfielder Quinten Timber. (Mail - subscription required, external)

Celtic have taken an interest in £6m-rated Crystal Palace midfielder Justin Devenny. (The Herald, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

We asked for your thoughts after Friday's Premier League game between Crystal Palace and Manchester City.

Here are some of your comments:

Crystal Palace fans

Jason: We created enough chances to get more from this match, but as usual failed to convert them. The team is behind in terms of coordination and understanding, i.e. playing as a team, due to lack of pre-season and ongoing transfers. It will get better, but I fear it may take a few more matches. We must get something from our next outing to Fulham!

Steve: We lack desire and talent. Some small glimpses on show, but we have an awful lot to do.

Cliff: Disappointing game. We gave the ball away too easily in midfield. Missed chances up front. New players did not impress. We need someone who can score goals.

Neil: Palace need a win to instil confidence, they lack a confident goalscorer. Another key factor is the increasing levels attainment in the league, even in the bottom half. I'm the most worried for years, the lack of investment coupled with an unproven manager. I hope I'm wrong?

Manchester City fans

Arthur: Man City were fantastic, the way they play the ball is brilliant, all the team members played well but Cherki and Haaland goals were brilliant and more signings come. Makes us so proud of you all, played superbly - well done City, you're the best.

Carl: Great performance, bit shaky to start but took control and it could have been six goals if Foden had finished them. It was nice to see him and Cherki play full games. They will only get better.

Harry: Very much a Man City performance. Remnants of Pep ball but with a lot more chaos. Tons of possession and looking a bit open at the back. It's a risky play style but can lead to brilliant match-ups like this. It was an incredibly strong performance away from home, many positives in the shape of Rayan Cherki and Haaland. Bouaddi looked excellent in his cameo, excited to see him and our academy lads going forward.

Brian: True grit and a will to win. Man City fought hard and played an attacking game to test a determined Crystal Palace defence. Man City are back to winning ways and that belief has transformed into success. Yes there will be tougher games but the message has been delivered Man City are back and back in style. The City fans are full of belief and voice.

Crystal Palace starting XI:

Dean Henderson: No chance for Manchester City's goals but demonstrated his quality with a fine save early on from Anderson, then others from Semenyo and Cherki. 7

Jaydee Convot: Did nothing wrong but ultimately Palace had no answer to Cherki. 6

Chris Richards: Good battle with Haaland, but only one player was winning that one. Should have scored with a first-half header. 6

Takehiro Tomiyasu: Solid as usual and will bring experience to the Palace ranks. 6

Anan Khalaili: No lack of effort or energy but short of end product. 6

Daichi Kamada: Busy in midfield as always but struggled to exert influence. 5

Adam Wharton: Class act. Composure, vision and a superb range of passing. At the heart of Palace's good things,although like others in the Palace ranks was eventually over-run. 7

Tyrick Mitchell: Tenacious and quick but missed a big chance to equalise with a header in the first half. 6

Eddie Nketiah: Lively early on, forcing a save from Donnarumma, but wasted a crucial opportunity early in the second half. 5

Yeremy Pino: Can be a mixed bag but offers real threat, as he showed with his splendid free-kick that went down as a Donnarumma own goal. 6

Jorgen Strand Larsen: Worked hard but lost the physical battle with Dias. Had one first-half chance but failed to convert. 5

Crystal Palace substitutes:

Evann Guessand (on 63, Strand Larsen), Gozo (on 68, Pino), McNeil (on 68, Nketiah), Disasi (on Tomiyasu 74) Mingueza (on 74, Khalaili)

Subs not used: Benitez, Munoz, Lerma, Hughes.

Read the full article and see how you rated the players

Neil Johnston
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Palace, who gave a debut off the bench to new signing Axel Disasi, are now without a win in nine Premier League games stretching back to last season.

In the 2-0 defeat by Everton on the opening weekend they hit the woodwork twice before fading in the second half.

Against Manchester City they threatened in spells but even after pulling one goal back they conceded soon after.

This was Pierre Sage's first taste of the night-game atmosphere at Selhurst Park and while the new Palace boss saw moments of positivity from his side, the Frenchman knows the next few days could be critical to Palace's season as Tuesday's 23:00 BST transfer deadline nears.

Will they fight off late late advances for Mateta and Ismaila Sarr, who is also injured but is on Liverpool's radar?

Meanwhile, right-back Daniel Munoz started on the bench on the day he was subject of a reported £22m bid from Nottingham Forest, managed by ex-Palace boss Oliver Glasner.

Losing to big-spending Manchester City is no disgrace and there will be no alarm bells sounding with the season still so young, particularly as Palace are still adjusting to life after Glasner, who inspired their memorable FA Cup and Conference League triumphs.

But the Eagles will be anxious to end their losing start as quickly as possible, with their next three games before the first international break of the season against Fulham (away), Ipswich (home) and Leeds (away).

Crystal Palace boss Pierre Sage told BBC Sport: "I'm frustrated with the score. It's heavy. We gave 60-65 good minutes. It's our story for the moment. We know we're a bit late in our pre-season. It's why it was 45 minutes in the last game and 65 minutes today.

"The bad moment is the 3-1. We came back. We lost our hope in this situation. Before that we had a lot of chances which we missed. Against a team like this you need to be at your top.

"We let them put the ball in the box. We know Erling Haaland can do good things with his head.

"We had a lot of opportunities and didn't take it.

"Football is not about style, it's about efficiency. and sometimes you need the points to have confidence.

"Jean-Philippe Mateta was injured two days before the game. At the end of a session, individual work. It's crazy. Maybe we've lost him for four weeks at least."

Did you know?

• Only West Ham (14) have lost their opening home match in more Premier League seasons than Crystal Palace (13).

• Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage has seen one of his teams concede four goals in a game for just the second time in his managerial career, previously losing 4-1 with Lyon to PSG in April 2024.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Crystal Palace's performance

What did you make of Manchester City's display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Saturday for a selection of your replies.