On New Year’s Day 2024, Crystal Palace were teetering on the edge of a relegation battle. They sat 15th in the table with just five wins in 20 games, and were only spared from being in an even more perilous position by the sheer inadequacy of the three clubs in the drop-zone; Luton, Burnley and Sheffield United.
An injection of something new was needed, and director of football Dougie Freedman got to work. In such circumstances, namely a run of seven defeats in their last 12 league games before the turn of the year, other Premier League sides have often swooped for experienced heads who know the English top flight and are well-proven under the pressure of potential relegation – usually at the expense of lacking any real long-term value to the team.
But Freedman took a gamble by signing two players who’d never set foot in the Premier League before. One was young midfielder Adam Wharton, signed from Blackburn Rovers for £18m. The other was Genk wing-back Daniel Munoz, a completely left-field signing who cost just under £7m.
Two years on, they have proved to be arguably the best pound-for-pound signings Freedman made during his time as Crystal Palace director.
Wharton and Munoz Among Freedman’s Best Signings at Palace
Freedman’s track record as Palace’s director of football rivals that of any Premier League contemporary during his eight years in the role. Throughout that period, he signed Eberechi Eze, who joined Arsenal for £60m last summer, Michael Olise, now a Bundesliga title-winner with Bayern Munich, Marc Guehi, a starting centre-back for England, and Jean-Philippe Mateta, a reported target of Manchester United.
But Wharton and Munoz might be the best of the lot, purely because they marked a turning point at Selhurst Park. Shortly after their arrival, manager Roy Hodgson made way for Oliver Glasner, and within the German’s 3-4-2-1 formation, Wharton and Munoz have thrived.
Munoz in particular has proved to be the perfect wing-back – almost a unicorn player with unique energy and the ability to impact in all stages of play. But Wharton has excelled too and appears destined to follow the path of Eze and Olise by eventually plying his trade for a club at the very top of European football.
Their impact climaxed last summer when Palace won the FA Cup to qualify for Europe.
What’s next for Wharton and Munoz
Unsurprisingly, Wharton and Munoz have both been talked about as potential signings for the Premier League’s top clubs. Tottenham have been linked with a ‘very significant’ offer for the midfielder, while Manchester United are alleged to be lining up an £87m bid.
United and Liverpool have both been mooted as landing spots for Munoz, but a knee injury in mid-December may counter-intuitively work in Palace’s favour as it limits the potential for a mid-season departure.
But with Munoz’s deal hitting the two-year-remaining mark in the summer, Freedman’s successor Matt Hobbs may soon be faced with a decision on his future. Already aged 29, it might just be the right time to cash-in if the Eagles can’t easily agree an extension.
As for Wharton, just like Eze and Olise, Hobbs will need to ensure he sells at the right time and for the right fee. The midfielder is a highly-valued commodity, and Palace need a deal that allows them to make a profit while re-investing in another gem.
