- Four academy stars who deserve a shot in the first team
- A great opportunity for development
- Palace set for enjoyable final league fixture
Crystal Palace host Premier League Champions Arsenal on the final day of the 2025/26 season this weekend. The Gunners were crowned winners of this season’s Premier League after Manchester City failed to beat AFC Bournemouth.
It will be the final time that Oliver Glasner manages a game at Selhurst Park for Crystal Palace.
The Eagles are deep in preparation ahead of their Europa Conference League final against Rayo Vellacano, which is just under a week away.
Ahead of the trip to Leipzig, a Premier League fixture which now has nothing on the line for either side awaits, and the mindset simply has to be preparing for that final, but also celebrating the legacy of a coach who has changed the lives of Palace fans.
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Time to rest key players
Whilst Glasner has made a name for himself at Palace by continuously playing his strongest eleven, it appears that in recent weeks his focus has been purely on sharing minutes across the squad to prepare the side for Leipzig.
Pre-planned substitutions have been the theme of the recent league games since Palace beat Shakhtar Donetsk to book their spot in the final.
During the league phase, in a game against Finnish Cup winners KuPS Kuopio, Glasner opted to debut a handful of academy players, recognising that the fixture meant little to Palace’s Conference League campaign.
Whilst it’ll be important to get minutes into the starter’s legs to get them prepared for Wednesday, with only two rest days between Arsenal and the final, it’s a great chance to bring some youth back into the squad.
Against KuPS, we saw debuts for George King, Dean Benamar, Joel Drakes-Thomas and Kaden Rodney. All four youngsters impressed massively, and therefore it would be great to see a repeat of that game back in December.
The 4 youngsters I’d love to see
Firstly, let’s start in defence. The back three took a couple of blows last week at Brentford, with Chris Richards picking up a knock whilst both Maxence Lacroix and Chadi Riad had to be withdrawn.
George King was brilliant on debut and earned an award in the academy’s end of season ceremony, recognising his contribution and progression.
Giving him another opportunity to start against the Premier League Champions would be amazing for his development, and as a Palace fan himself, he’d certainly appreciate the opportunity.
Sticking in the backline, Dean Benamar certainly impressed on his debut. He’s almost hand-crafted for an Oliver Glasner system, and has had an excellent campaign for the under-21s and under-18s.
He’s developing into an excellent full-back, and will undoubtedly have a career at Palace if his development continues. He even played in goal in the under-18s final fixture, keeping a clean sheet!
Moving further forward, Joel Drakes-Thomas could certainly benefit from more first team minutes. He was the best player on the pitch on his debut, with senior players consistently searching for him in possession to make things happen.
Direct, skilful and powerful, Drakes-Thomas is one of the brightest prospects in Palace’s academy, and should be rewarded with another first team appearance before the end of the season.
Finally, an outside shout, but it would be brilliant to see Hindolo Mustapha involved with the first team.
Hindo had a tough loan spell in Germany at the beginning of the season, playing next to no football under Miroslav Klose at FC Nürnberg II, before he was sent to West Brom for the second half of the campaign.
Just one minute of Championship action summed up a disappointing season for Mustapha, but he returned to the Palace academy sides, scoring twice for the Under-21s.
Involvement with the first team would be an excellent motivator for him, after what has likely been a demoralising season.
