Crystal Palace at the crossroads

The Eagles are flying high, but uncertainty surrounds their players, their boss and the ownership

- DOM SMITH

Crystal Palace are facing a defining period for their future. The south London club have an FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday, are three games away from a possible first ever major trophy and have built the most talented squad in their history.

They have one of the most highly-regarded coaches in Europe in Austrian Oliver Glasner and there is real excitement among supporters about the potential for a golden age at Palace.

Work to finally redevelop their Selhurst Park stadium is set to begin this year and the construction of a new main stand is part of an ambitious vision from chairman Steve Parish.

But big changes are afoot behind the scenes at Palace that threaten their bid to smash the glass ceiling and establish themselves as a top-half Premier League club. It was announced last week that sporting director Dougie Freedman, who has overseen a hugely successful transfer strategy, is leaving after eight years in the role.

Glasner is out of contract at the end of next season and the vultures are circling for some of their best players, including Adam Wharton, Marc Guéhi and Jean-Philippe Mateta. There is also uncertainty around the ownership situation at Palace, leaving the club at a crossroads.

Life after Freedman

Freedman built a reputation at Palace as one of the league's shrewdest sporting directors, so last Monday's revelation that he was resigning hit like a tonne of bricks. The Glaswegian's extensive EFL scouting network helped Palace lure some of the Championship's most promising talent, including Eberechi Eze (signed from QPR), Wharton (Blackburn) and Michael Olise, nabbed from Reading for £8m and sold to Bayern Munich three summers later for £51m. Loaning Conor Gallagher, buying Guéhi from Chelsea - little wonder Newcastle and Manchester United wanted him to head up their own recruitment.