Roy Hodgson has praised the work of Crystal Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman in helping assemble the club’s sought-after young stars at Selhurst Park.
The club has seen the value of players bought for relatively modest sums rocket in recent seasons, with winger Michael Olise – an £8million buy from Reading two summers ago – the subject of an unsuccessful £35m bid from Chelsea this week.
Palace’s long stay in the Premier League has largely been built on shrewd work in the transfer market, plucking lesser-known young players from the Championship or overseas and giving them the chance to prove themselves in the top flight.
Eberechi Eze joined from QPR in 2021 and has grown to become a key member of the team’s front line, while defenders Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen and midfielder Cheick Doucoure have also flourished since arriving at Selhurst Park.
Doucoure, who played 34 times in the league in his debut campaign in England last season, has been strongly linked with a move to Liverpool as Jurgen Klopp looks to rebuild his team’s midfield, and former Chelsea academy player Guehi has become an England international.
Hodgson acknowledged that transfer fees across the board have risen sharply in recent seasons, highlighting Brighton as an example in the week that they received a British record £115m fee from Chelsea for Moises Caicedo.
But he was equally keen to point to the influence of Freedman, who made more than 350 appearances for Palace during two spells as a player, in keeping his squad stocked with bright prospects who are catching the eye of bigger sides.
“You’ve only got to turn to Brighton; Caicedo and(Alexis) Mac Allister,” said Hodgson. “That’s an incredible leap, those players; £4m for Caicedo to £115m. They sold Mac Allister for over £50m.
“The prices these days are getting very, very high. I don’t think we should be surprised anymore by that. We were lucky as Brighton were lucky in identifying a very good young player that didn’t cost enormous sums of money at that time.
“What they saw in him, the potential, developed, and he becomes a player that then gets put into a category where this is the level the player is at. All of our players have done that, it’s not just Michael. It’s Eze without a doubt, it’s Doucoure without a doubt, it’s the two centre-backs (Guehi and Andersen) without a doubt, it’s (defender) Tyrick Mitchell.
“All these players are in a category that they probably weren’t in when the club bought them.
“The recruitment has been good. Dougie Freedman has done very well, I think the money has always been limited. It’s not been a question of just go out, there’s a blank chequebook, find a player you think the club needs. He’s had to do it within budget restrictions which the club has to respect and adhere to.”
Freedman was manager at Palace at the beginning of the season in which they won promotion to the Premier League in 2012/13.
He guided the club into the top six in the Championship in October before leaving to take charge of Bolton.
Ian Holloway took over and guided the team up via the play-offs, but Freedman is credited with laying the foundations, having been appointed in 2011 with the club languishing in the Championship relegation zone.
He was appointed sporting director in 2017 after a brief stint managing Nottingham Forest.
“We’re in a majority of clubs,” said Hodgson. “The minority are the ones who can pluck players at whatever price the club is asking. I think the club has given them a good platform to develop their skills and become the Premier League players that obviously Dougie thought they were going to be when he watched them play.
“When he ’s watching Joachim Andersen at Fulham, who’s come on loan from a German club; when he’s watching Marc Guehi at Swansea; when he’s watching Doucoure play in France; when he’s watching Michael at Reading; when he’s watching Ebs (Eze) at QPR. That’s the work that goes in.
“There’s still a leap of faith needed. Today you’d say Eze was cheap. Well he wasn’t for us when we bought him. When we paid £16m, that wasn’t cheap at all. That was a big transfer.
“But thanks to Doug’s work, it’s paid off. I like to think that the atmosphere, the environment, the way the club is and the way it operates, gives people a nice platform if you like to show their skills and to become better players.
“You can go back further. (Aaron) Wan-Bissaka we sold (to Manchester United) for £50m.”
Preston 0-3 Leicester City: Foxes seal Championship title in style
Leicester City cruised to a 3-0 win over Preston in the Championship on Monday to clinch the title with a game to spare.
Jamie Vardy was the star for the Foxes as he scored in both halves before Kasey McAteer made sure of the points with an unmarked header.
Abdul Fatawu had the chance to cap an already memorable night for the travelling fans but hit the post with his curler.
Preston slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat, while Leicester go into their final game against Blackburn Rovers with the knowledge that they will lift the trophy after the final whistle.
Data Debrief
Jamie Vardy has scored 18 goals this season (two in this game), more than any other Leicester player in the competition. He has also netted in his last three games, scoring four goals in total.
It was a dominant performance from the Foxes, who had 19 shots with 11 of those on target. At the other end, Preston only managed to test Jakub Stolarczyk once from their five attempts.
Premier League clubs agree in principle to new spending cap
Premier League clubs have voted in favour of the competition potentially creating a spending cap, according to widespread reports.
The Premier League will now work on the studies and legal analysis required to possibly introduce a cap model from the start of the 2025-26 season onwards.
This would replace the current Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), under which Everton and Nottingham Forest have both been deducted points this season, while Leicester City have been charged with a breach.
At a meeting on Monday, 16 clubs voted in favour of the Premier League performing the required analysis. The model will then be presented to club's at the annual general meeting in June, for another vote.
According to reports, Manchester United, Manchester City and Aston Villa voted against the introduction of a spending cap, which would be tied to a multiple of whatever the lowest-earning side receives via the league's centralised broadcast and commercial deals. Chelsea were said to have abstained.
The cap would form part of the Premier League's "squad cost" rules, which will eventually replace the PSR.
While Everton have secured their safety despite suffering two points deductions worth eight points, Nottingham Forest remain in a relegation battle having been docked four points.
Forest will soon find out the result of their appeal, while Everton were set to have their appeal against the second of their deductions heard in the coming weeks.
Leicester, who have been promoted from the Championship, could face a points deduction next season, having been charged with a breach of the Premier League's regulations during the 2022-23 campaign.
Chelsea, meanwhile, seemingly got around the rules due to their ownership selling two Stamford Bridge hotels to another company within their group.
'I know my worth and I will show it' – Antony vows to silence Man Utd critics
Manchester United winger Antony has pledged to silence his critics after ending his long wait for a Premier League goal on Saturday, saying: "I know my worth and I will show it."
Antony has struggled since swapping Ajax for Old Trafford in an £86million ($108m) deal last year, only managing five goals and three assists in 52 Premier League appearances.
The Brazilian failed to net in his first 26 league games this season before ending his goal drought against Burnley on Saturday, though Zeki Amdouni's late penalty earned the Clarets a 1-1 draw.
Antony was also roundly criticised for taunting Coventry City's players in the aftermath of United's FA Cup semi-final win over the Sky Blues earlier this month, with the Red Devils inching through on penalties after surrendering a 3-0 lead in a 3-3 draw.
Having struggled to live up to expectations since arriving in England, he was asked by The Athletic whether his price tag had put him under additional pressure, but he says that is not the case.
"It doesn't really impact me because I know my worth," Antony said. "The money is the money and obviously everyone speaks about it, but no one would if the performances were at the top.
"It's just a way of working harder, knowing I can get better, I know my worth and I will show it. The critics are going to exist, and they make me want to work harder and prove it to myself first.
"I'm going to keep working, giving everything for the group because it's most important to have a good mentality and to be focused."
Saturday's draw officially ended United's hopes of a top-four finish, heightening speculation regarding the future of manager Erik ten Hag.
While Antony accepts United have not been good enough this season, he is hopeful they can end the campaign on a high with another FA Cup final against Manchester City to come.
"It's been a very tough year for me and the team, the results are not ones we expected," Antony added.
"I am someone who takes criticism very well and I want to work on it, and I think we all have to focus on finishing the season the best we can.
"We still have five games and we have to think game by game, get better and go into the final in the best way possible to win it."
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