Two of Crystal Palace’s summer signings have shot up in a recent market valuation of players under the age of 23 across Europe’s top five leagues.
According to the CIES Football Observatory, Eagles centre-back Marc Guehi is worth a cool £41.8million while winger Michael Olise is worth £18.8million. The pair of recruits from last summer have both hit the ground running in south London and have become two of Patrick Vieira’s most trusted players on the pitch following several excellent performances in red and blue.
Guehi arrived at Selhurst Park from London neighbours Chelsea for around £18million having only played two senior fixtures for the Blues before, but spent time on loan at Swansea in the Championship. He has since become a cornerstone of Palace’s side and has played in 30 Premier League matches for the Eagles, scoring twice in the top-flight as well as bagging a further two goals in four FA Cup appearances.
READ MORE: Rare mistakes, Zaha penalty woe and Wembley auditions - Crystal Palace talking points vs Leicester
His form was rewarded with a call-up to the senior England international squad in March where he made his full Three Lions debut in the 2-1 friendly win over Switzerland at Wembley. The 21-year-old has gone from strength to strength in south London and was made captain of the side for the first time in the 4-1 away win over Watford at Vicarage Road in February.
Guehi has since captained the Eagles again in impressive wins over Everton (4-0) and Arsenal (3-0) while also helping his side record a clean sheet at home against defending Premier League champions Manchester City last month. All this has seen his market value go up and up, with the CIES database now ranking him as the most valuable player in the Premier League under the age of 23 to have made their top-flight debut this season.
Olise, meanwhile, has enjoyed a similarly remarkable rise to now being one of the most talked-about youngsters currently operating in the top five European leagues. Signed from Championship side Reading last summer for £8million, Olise had to bide his time before eventually breaking into the Palace starting XI at the turn of the year.
He has since nailed down a spot in Vieria’s preferred starting XI and has struck up a tantalising partnership with Wilfried Zaha as part of Palace’s menacing front three. His four goals and nine assists this season have come from just 1,315 minutes of football, meaning he’s currently averaging a goal involvement once every 105 minutes for the club.
His form hasn’t gone unnoticed either, with Olise earning his first callup to the France Under-21 squad in March where he returned back with a minor foot injury, keeping him out of Palace’s last two league games. Nevertheless, his increased transfer value is a good indication of how well he has performed for the Eagles this season, with Vieira warding off interest from other clubs by saying he wants Olise to stay at Selhurst Park for a very long time.
The fact that both Guehi and Olise have become important members of the Palace team shows that the club’s transfer strategy is working well, with the Eagles identifying talent from the Championship and giving them a platform to improve on the big stage. Chairman Steve Parish and sporting director Dougie Freedman similarly signed Conor Gallagher on loan from Chelsea after several successful loans in the second tier, with his form in a Palace shirt also earning him an England senior call-up for the first time in November.
Ebere Eze’s move to the club followed a similar pattern after he impressed with QPR in the Championship, while there are more signs that the club will continue to source talent from the Football League after making a £1million move for Derby County’s Luke Plange in the January window.
This can only be a good thing for the club, which can now attract more players and clearly show them there’s a pathway to fit into Vieira’s plans if they work hard enough and have the talent to perform.
