Crystal Palace star looks finished at Selhurst Park after Strand Larsen deal

Crystal Palace had one of the more chaotic transfer deadline days in the Premier League, with Dwight McNeil’s proposed move from Everton to Selhurst Park scuppered after paperwork was not submitted in time.

An initial loan deal with a £20m buy option would have suited the Eagles to a tee, providing Glasner with depth and creative quality over the business months as he looks to get his side back on track.

In truth, stable has not been a word to describe the project for a number of weeks now, with Oliver Glasner having declared he will leave Selhurst Park midway through January and Jean-Philippe Mateta pulling all the stops to seal a winter transfer away that did not materialise.

This is an outcome that suits neither Palace nor the player, but Steve Parish still green-lit a move for Jorgen Strand Larsen, who completed a £48m move from Wolves to south London on Monday afternoon.

Why Palace still signed Strand Larsen

Now, Palace have attacking options in abundance, especially after strengthening the pack with goalscoring winger Brennan Johnson in January.

Strand Larsen has struggled in a doomed Wolves team this season, but he’s a talented and physical forward, the perfect Mateta successor.

Having scored 15 times in the Premier League last year, his maiden term in the English top flight, the Norwegian striker has proved himself capable, and in a Palace side that creates freely, he could settle in quickly.

Mateta will hope to maintain his place in the starting line-up over the coming months, even after his transfer-related disappointment, but having missed 16 big chances and only scored eight goals in the Premier League this season, Strand Larsen has a real shot to prove himself no. 1.

The 25-year-old has arrived for a club-record fee, and so he will expect to play lots of football. Mateta, too, will feature in Glasner’s plans.

But this unfortunate chain of events does pose a danger to another Eagles bagsman who may now sink further into the sidelines.

Palace “beast” may now be finished

At least Crystal Palace are not lacking goalscoring options for the remainder of the campaign. Strength in depth will please Glasner as he pushes to rekindle last season’s title-winning form and at least mount a challenge for a top-half Premier League finish.

Whatever happens, it’s fair to say that Eddie Nketiah faces an uphill battle to play a considerable part in his team’s efforts, knocked further down the pecking order by the addition of Strand Larsen and Mateta’s collapsed transfer.

Palace signed Nketiah from Arsenal for £30m in 2024, and though he played a part in the title-winning success of 2025, the 26-year-old will be frustrated by his nominal impact in front of goal, having only scored 11 goals from 56 matches in all competitions for the Eagles.

In the Premier League this season, he’s only started twice, with a thigh injury ruling him out of action since December.

This is a player with 157 appearances in the Premier League, all told. Nketiah is a talented finisher with deft movements in the area, but consistency in terms of numbers has not been found across his Premier League career, and still he waits for the day he becomes the star man up top.

Mikel Arteta once labelled the English forward a “beast” in attack, but if he’s a beast, he’s a toothless one, with 11 big chances missed and four goals scored in the league for Palace underscoring the holes that still need plugging.

The once-capped England international has not been linked with a move away from the capital, but that could soon change, for he will return from an injury layoff to find his way impeded by Strand Larsen’s arrival.

Should all things come together, Strand Larsen will star as Crystal Palace’s focal frontman over the coming years. In this, both Mateta and Nketiah have been jeopardised.

For the club, at least, they have landed a talented new goalscorer who wants to play for the badge.