Crystal Palace rubbed salt in the wounds of Tottenham Hotspur last week in the Premier League, as Oliver Glasner’s men beat Igor Tudor’s wretched hosts 3-1.
Glasner has had his fair share of managerial struggles of late at Selhurst Park, with Eagles fans calling for the Austrian to leave early, but the soon-to-be-departed boss would have delighted many fans with the outstanding nature of that victory in North London.
Palace fans will be head over heels for Ismaila Sarr at the moment, as the former Watford striker continues to shine for the Eagles, two seasons into his move to Ligue 1.
How well Sarr has done for Crystal Palace this season
Despite Sarr’s quick fire against a leaky Spurs defence, the away team may not have had the extra number of players, after Micky van de Ven was sent off.
Two goals in the space of 12 minutes in the first half for the 28-year-old magician sealed the game and gave the Eagles a deserved win, and Sarr now sits on seven Premier League goals this season, from just 1,640 minutes of action.
The combined number seven continues to play with ice coursing through his veins at his South London employers, with the £12.5m Palace shelled out to bring him back to England, after a short stint with Marseille, coming off as a huge deal.
Up to 25 goals and ten assists in total at Selhurst Park, after scoring against Tudor and Co, Sarr’s estimated transfer value has risen to £30m according to Transfermarkt, a huge £17.5m increase from his cheap 2024 tag.
However, as Sarr has made that wild switch and delighted Palace fans far and wide this season with his superb performances, there is another figure in Glasner’s camp who is worth more than the £30m star and is just as eye-catching.
The Crystal Palace star is more important than Sarr
Sarr wasn’t the only Palace man that Spurs struggled to find on Thursday night, as Adam Wharton collected two assists with some fine play in the middle of the park.
Alongside England’s glitterati, Jorgen Strand Larsen continues to look comfortable in the red and blue of Palace, having left Wolverhampton Wanderers for a new opportunity in South London in January.
Dubbed a “fantastic” attacking talent by former Wolves boss Vitor Pereira with 20 goals at Molineux, Strand Larsen hasn’t looked back since making the switch from the West Midlands to London, with his effort past the onrushing Gugilemo Vicario to give Palace a 2-1 win over Spurs.
That took the Norwegian’s goal tally for the Eagles to an impressive three goals in seven games, as he looks to match his club record £48m fee.
Ideally, Palace would have won the services of the former Leeds United target on the cheap, given Strand Larsen arrived at his new home with just one goal of the season to his name.
Indeed, this has been a solid campaign for the striker but he is finally coming along, scoring 14 goals in 2024/25.
While he hasn’t quite reached those heights yet in London, he’s clearly proving to be worth it all for a cheap price, even if Transfermarkt suggests the Eagles overpaid for his services.
|
Crystal Palace – the most respected players |
|
|---|---|
|
The player |
Price |
|
Adam Wharton |
£52m |
|
Jean Philippe Mateta |
£34m |
|
Jorgen Strand Larsen |
£34m |
|
Brennan Johnson |
£30m |
|
Ismail Sarr |
£30m |
Worth around £4m more than Sarr, it speaks volumes for Strand Larsen’s quality that he is the only player more important than the impressive renewed striker Wharton, who could leave for a bigger fee in the summer.
It’s safe to say he’s a better fit for Palace than Wolves, and that fact is something the striker even explained after the win over Spurs.
Speaking fully, he said he “feels really happy” under Glasner, noting that the players around him make such a big difference.
A sneaky dig at Wolves? It’s probably possible. Either way, Steve Parish and Co will be glad they got through this one.
Crystal Palace have struck gold with a £13m star who is now worth more than Munoz
Glasner created a title-winning Crystal Palace team with a wide range of top talents.
