Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner is “100 per cent committed” to the club until the end of the season after “very good talks” with chairman Steve Parish.
Glasner, who confirmed last week he will leave Selhurst Park when his contract expires in the summer, launched a scathing attack on the club’s hierarchy following their 2-1 defeat at Sunderland last Saturday.
But six days on from his bombshell interview, Glasner gave an open and honest 30-minute press conference ahead of Sunday’s Premier League home game against Chelsea, live on Sky Sports, in which he revealed:
He did not regret his explosive commentsHe has had a “very long dinner” with Steve Parish, with “everything cleared” between themLikened his situation to the “sun shining after a thunderstorm”He did not rule out another outburst in the future due to his emotional natureWantaway Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta has not handed in a transfer request and will play on SundayIt was agreed in February 2025 that Marc Guehi would be soldHe had originally planned to publicly reveal his exit at the end of the season in DecemberDaniel Munoz is back in training, while Ismaila Sarr is available after returning from AFCON dutyGoalkeeper Dean Henderson will captain Palace for the remainder of the season following Guehi’s exit
Sunday 25th January 12:30pm
Kick off 2:00pm
In his opening answer, which lasted just over three minutes, Glasner said: “I was thinking a lot about what happened before and after the game, and I was quite emotional after the game, and I think it shows how much the players, how much Crystal Palace means to me. Some could say, ‘Why do you care? You already told the club that you will leave in summer’, but it’s just how I am, how attached I am to the club.
“And in this situation, with all the circumstances, and it’s not that we sold [Marc Guehi]. I agreed one year ago in February, we had a meeting, I agreed to sell Marc.
“It’s all about timing and replacement; that was the whole situation. I know that Crystal Palace will always sell players if they have big offers from other clubs, but it was just the situation, telling the team 28 hours before a Premier League game that the captain is leaving. This was my feeling at that moment, and this is what I tried to express.
“I know it feels like criticism, but for me it was just telling the feelings, the emotions I had, the team had.
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Oliver Glasner hit out at Crystal Palace’s hierarchy after his depleted team were beaten by Sunderland 2-1 at the Stadium of Light
“I had a very long dinner with Steve [Parish] this week, and we talked about this situation – not to sell Marc – it’s the timing and the possible replacement, and this was the situation I wanted to explain, and it was a very good talk for both of us.
“But nothing changed, what I told at the press conference before the Sunderland game, when I said I will give my best to play a great season, and Steve and me we are 100 per cent committed still, that we will do our best to have a great rest of the season, a great four months together. This is what we all want, and I know the club is now very hard-working to do the right things.
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Following defeat at Sunderland, Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner continued to attack the club’s hierarchy at the post-match press conference!
“It’s not so easy in January, finding the right centre-back…but in this particular moment it felt like we could have done better for the success of the team, for the success of Crystal Palace.
“This is everybody who is in a relationship, and this is how I feel it. It was a thunderstorm, but always after a thunderstorm the sun is shining, and it started to shine on Wednesday when we started to train again.
“Speaking always very honestly with my players, we had a very great week in training, great spirit, of course it lifted the mood.
“Dani Munoz came back at the beginning of the week, Isma Sarr came back as an AFCON winner from Senegal, and now we are preparing for the rest of the season. We started this week and the club is preparing, so it’s all fine.”
He added: “Everything is cleared between Steve and me.
“He’s a great guy. Oliver Glasner is a nice guy, Steve Parish is a nice guy, and if two nice guys talk to each other in a proper way, this won’t be an issue.
“Again, I didn’t attack him personally; I just think we could have done a little bit better.”
‘I don’t regret comments’
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Tim Sherwood believes Oliver Glasner’s decision to hit out at the Crystal Palace hierarchy is an act of ‘self-preservation’
Asked whether he regretted his outburst, he replied: “No, I don’t regret. Do I think it was the best way? No, I don’t think so, but that’s Oliver Glasner.
“I think it’s maybe also a part of what we achieved together, that emotion, this helps to create a spirit, a togetherness, a belief. But sometimes maybe it’s not the best possible way, but that’s me. I don’t say I’m perfect – I would like to be, but on the other side, I never attacked anyone personally, I just explained my feelings about this situation.
“I had the feeling in this particular game, we all together could have done better. And then, maybe, I can’t prove it, maybe we wouldn’t have lost. And this was my feeling after the game. And I always expect from myself, I expect from the players, I expect from the club, that we give 100 per cent for the success of Palace.
“And in this moment, I think, again, we could have done better, and this is what I wanted to express.
“I don’t regret it, because I know how I am and who I am. But on the other side, I know that it was not maybe the perfect and right moment. I was asked, do you think this could happen again? I said yes, because that’s how I am.”
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Paul Merson questions Oliver Glasner’s timing of his Palace exit announcement
Quizzed on whether his exit announcement last week caught Parish and the heirachy by surprise, the Austrain responded: “No, never. I planned to tell it by the end of December, because I wanted to avoid anybody says, ‘Okay, Oliver is not pleased with the transfer window, that’s why he’s leaving’.
“It had nothing to do with it, that’s why I wanted to announce it before the window starts.
“But then there were some reasons, all these games, and then we decided to wait after the three-game weeks, and then I told you.”
Mateta has not handed in transfer request
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Sky Sports News chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol analyses the future of Mateta at Palace
Sky Sports News reported this week that Jean-Philippe Mateta has told Palace he wants to leave the club this January, amid interest from Aston Villa and Juventus.
But Glasner said the 28-year-old has not formally requested to leave.
“He didn’t hand a transfer request and we have received no bid right now,” the 51-year-old revealed.
“Every player there is a price where a club says, okay, evaluating the whole situation – age, contract duration – and a price where the club agrees to a deal. But again there’s no bid come in and he hasn’t handed in a transfer request, so he will play on Sunday.”
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Ex-Crystal Palace players Clinton Morrison and Darren Ambrose advise Jean-Philippe Mateta to stay at the Eagles
Asked whether he had spoken to him about leaving Palace, Glasner replied: “I speak with many players about different topics but they deserve is that I don’t tell it publicly.”
He added on the Eagles’ transfer plans: “The club is working hard. It’s doing the right things, and I’m sure we will do the right things.”
Chelsea defender Acheampong emerges as Palace target
Chelsea’s Josh Acheampong (right) is a Palace target
Exclusive from Sky Sports News’ James Green & James Savundra:
Chelsea defender Josh Acheampong has emerged as a potential target for Crystal Palace in this window.
Palace are considering a number of options – both short-term and long-term – to help fill the void left by former captain Guehi, who joined Manchester City this month in a £20m deal.
Teenager Acheampong is one of the names currently being discussed by Palace.
No formal conversations are understood to have taken place yet between Palace and Chelsea over the 19-year-old.
The two clubs have a strong working relationship, having traded a number of players in recent years.
Last season, Chelsea allowed Trevoh Chalobah and Ben Chilwell to join the Eagles on loan, and before that, the likes of Guehi and Conor Gallagher have followed that well-trodden path.
It is currently unclear whether Chelsea would sanction a permanent sale in this window or allow the youngster to depart on loan. The Blues are looking to sign a centre-back themselves amid injuries to several defenders.
Acheampong has started both domestic cup matches under new head coach Liam Rosenior, and has featured in the last four Premier League matches.
