Crystal Palace

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport Journalist

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Crystal Palace have completed the signing of Ajax defender Borna Sosa to finally provide some competition for Tyrick Mitchell at left-back.

Sosa, 27, will hope to recapture the form he showed during five seasons at Stuttgart, where he established himself as one of the best attacking full-backs in Germany.

During his final three years at the club, the Croat registered 24 Bundesliga assists during that time, the joint-highest figure of any defender in the league for that period, but his career has stalled since then.

Three weeks after joining Ajax in 2023, the man who signed him, director of football Sven Mislintat, was sacked. Sosa soon fell out of favour and started just 10 Eredivisie games before spending 2024-25 on loan at Torino, where he began only 14 Serie A matches.

Though capped at various youth levels by Croatia, he controversially tried to switch allegiance to Germany prior to Euro 2020, only to discover at the last minute it was not permitted under Fifa rules.

He quickly issued a public apology, admitting he had been "wrong" and "naive", and has since won 26 caps for his native country, including five starts as they reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2022.

With Palace hoping to complete in the Europa League next season, Sosa's experience could prove a useful option for manager Oliver Glasner.

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New signing Borna Sosa says he has "heard so many good things about Crystal Palace" after completing a move from Ajax.

The Croatia international, who is a left-sided wing-back, has signed a three-year deal at Selhurst Park after spending last season on loan at Torino in Serie A.

"I'm very excited to join Crystal Palace," Sosa said. "I've heard so many good things about the club.

"I cannot wait to meet the players, the staff, and all of the fans, because I've heard so many good things. I'm very, very excited to be here.

"I think everybody agrees it is the best league in the world with so many exciting and good games. I can't wait to see the stadiums and experience the atmosphere. I'm excited.

"I'm curious about the speed of the game that everybody speaks about in the Premier League. I want to see how it really looks like because it feels, when you watch on television, that every game is like a show.

"The coach, Oliver [Glasner], has told me a lot of good things about the fans. He said that they're really positive and that the atmosphere is unbelievably loud in the stadium."

Chairman Steve Parish said: "We believe Borna will be a fantastic fit for Crystal Palace. His credentials speak for themselves, and his arrival adds additional quality, experience and depth to our squad.

"I look forward to welcoming him to south London."

Sosa, 27, is Palace's second summer signing following the arrival of goalkeeper Walter Benitez.

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

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Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor says Uefa have been given a document that says he has no influence on the management decisions of the club.

Textor's involvement with both Palace and French club Lyon looks set to cost the Eagles a spot in the Europa League under Uefa's rules governing multi-club ownership.

"The document that I signed when I signed onto the shares, says clearly, that I'm not entitled to have any say in management decisions," Textor told Talksport.

"They've [Uefa] seen that document, and I've sat there in the room and said 'OK, stop talking about the 25% and using that argument because it's below the Uefa threshold of 30%.

"My document says I have 0% vote so why would it be a problem?"

When asked how much responsibility he will take if Palace do get demoted to Conference League, Textor said "we all do as owners," before being pushed to answer about him personally.

"I'll admit to not even thinking about the issue [prior to Palace winning the FA Cup].

"Of course, I have to. But I also read the rule.

"Everybody is talking about it like it is so obvious.

"If you have decisive influence then you may need to consider this but I don't and I didn't.

"If I had decisive influence, then those Brazilian players that just beat PSG in the Club World Cup, half of them would be coming to Crystal Palace next year.

"But you don't see one single player from our network of clubs, that's made their way on to the Palace roster.

"That is the source of my frustration with the lack of collaboration we've been able to have with Crystal Palace."

Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest are among the Premier League clubs considering Manchester City and England Under-21s midfielder James McAtee, 22, this summer. (Sky Sports, external)

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Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

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Crystal Palace's Europa League dreams now rest with Uefa, with those at Selhurst Park fearing the worst.

They are waiting on Uefa to decide whether John Textor's stake in the club breaches the governing body's multi-club ownership rules by the end of the week.

Uefa's decision to delay their ruling on whether Textor held decisive control at Selhurst Park has irked many at Palace, who believe the governing body wants to avoid making a resolution.

With Lyon having won their appeal against relegation from Ligue 1, Uefa cannot avoid the ruling much longer. It begs the question that if Uefa believed Palace were not in breach of their rules, would they have made that decision by now?

That is the concern for the Eagles.

Palace will likely have the comfort blanket of playing in the European Conference League next season, which would still represent their first foray into European club competition.

But if it comes to that, a sense of a massive miscarriage of justice will grip Selhurst Park.

They will not take it lying down either as the club have already explored their legal options before taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if required.

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Arsenal are prepared to offer a player swap for Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze and look set to beat Tottenham Hotspur to the attacking midfielder's signature. (Sun), external

Crystal Palace are monitoring the situation of Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney, with the 23-year-old drawing interest from several Premier League clubs, including Everton, West Ham, Brentford and Fulham, as well as European sides such as Porto, Stuttgart, and Bayer Leverkusen. (Sky Sports), external

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The BBC's search to find a new football expert is under way, with 12 content creators competing in Last Pundit Standing to win a role as BBC Sport's next football content creator.

The first two episodes of the show - co-hosted by former Watford captain Troy Deeney and YouTuber and football presenter James Allcott - are available to watch on iPlayer, as well as BBC Sport's YouTube channel and TikTok account, with new episodes every week until 11 August.

The contestants, who were chosen from more than 400 applicants, will be whittled down through a series of tasks staged at iconic football locations as the creators are challenged by some of the biggest names in the game.

Read more about the show here

Watch the first two episodes of Last Pundit Standing now on BBC iPlayer

Crystal Palace are in talks with Sporting over a £45m deal for Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande, 21. (Guardian), external

Palace are also interested in 28-year-old Nigeria midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, who has a reported £9m relegation release clause in his Leicester City contract. Fulham, Everton and Manchester United are also keen (Tuttosport - in Italian, external)

Italian defender Davide Calabria, 28, is also a target for the Selhurst Park club. He impressed on loan at Bologna last season but is a free agent after leaving AC Milan when his contract expired. (Sky Sports), external

Meanwhile, the Eagles remain determined to retain Marc Guehi, despite Newcastle United's ongoing pursuit of the centre-back. (GiveMeSport), external

Crystal Palace face growing interest in Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, with Rangers, Sheffield United and Southampton all keen on the winger, who is valued at about £10m by the Eagles. (Daily Record), external

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Crystal Palace are closing in on the signing of Ajax's 27-year-old left-back Borna Sosa for £2m. (Athletic - subscription required), external

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Crystal Palace will play Championship side Millwall in a pre-season friendly next weekend.

The game is set to kick off at 12:00 BST on Saturday, 12 July - however, it will be played behind closed doors with no spectators.

The last time these two teams played, Palace beat Millwall 3-1 in the fifth round of the FA Cup on their way to Wembley glory.

Crystal Palace have reached a £47m agreement to sign Ousmane Diomande, 21, from Sporting, with the Ivory Coast defender seen as a potential replacement for Marc Guehi. (A Bola - in Portuguese), external

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Arsenal have held talks with representatives of Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze, who has a release clause of £67.5m. (Guardian), external

Meanwhile, Palace are eyeing a £27m double move for Middlesbrough's English midfielder Hayden Hackney, 23, and Dutch defender Rav van den Berg, 20. (Sun), external

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We asked you how you feel after the decision on whether Crystal Palace will play in the Europa League next season has been delayed by Uefa.

Here are some of your comments:

Andy: It's a farce that needs sorting quickly. It could have grave consequences on our summer transfer activity and whether our top players stay or go. I see no connection with Lyon whatsoever. Yet our fate seems to rest with their appeal. It's all bizarre.

Stephen: This is unfair. Palace have clearly demonstrated that Textor had no controlling interest in the club and has even now sold his shares anyway. The delay will have a major effect on the club's transfer dealings unless resolved quickly but there seems to be no timeline here. Unbelievable bureaucratic nonsense typical of Uefa when everybody can see there is no case to answer.

Geoff: They wouldn't treat one of the so called 'big clubs' like this. It's obvious to everyone that Textor doesn't have, and has never had a significant influence on Palace's football direction.

Rich: Palace have dealt with the perceived issue and keeping Palace waiting puts them at a massive disadvantage in the transfer market. I hope they get on with the appeal and get to grips with what looks like a very easy decision taking everything into consideration.

Grant: If this was black and white against us; the decision would have been both made and announced weeks ago. The delay can only be positive with efforts being made to afford us our earned and well deserved European tour . . . surely!

Karim: The delay is absolutely ridiculous. Not just for the fan unrest but also from a wider club perspective. How are we supposed to implement a transfer policy for this summer? Having no idea whether we can attract players towards a European project means we have to wait until a decision is made before we can sign players. And even if the decision goes in our favour, most of the players who would have wanted the project of European football would have gone to other clubs by that point.

Alex Pewter
Fan writer

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So far, Crystal Palace's first experience of European football has been a lot more bureaucratic and bylaw-focused than 'Porto away' and floodlights. Perhaps that encapsulates the 'Typical Palace' moniker self-imposed by the fans.

Unusually, the Eagles appear to be mere bystanders within the process, at least on this occasion.

Uefa's decision to delay making any decision is frustratingly logical. Why set a precedent and open yourself to appeals, whether Palace are awarded their Europa League spot or not, when John Textor and Lyon may spectacularly remove themselves from the equation with relegation to Ligue 2?

Logical or not, the wider issue for Palace is the impact on planning, on and off the pitch. Europa League football was likely to attract a higher calibre of players, as well as sponsors who could bolster finances and facilitate such moves.

Until Uefa rules otherwise, the concept of missing out remains unthinkable for fans.

Of course, a path still remains where Crystal Palace exit the four-year involvement with John Textor and Eagle Football entirely unscathed and with a place in the Europa League.

If anything, the chaos that surrounds his two European clubs, in contrast to Palace, is in itself a strong argument that Palace is not operating as part of his multi-club ownership.

In France, Lyon fans are protesting because the DGNC - the body which oversees the accounts of French professional football clubs - decided they should be relegated over the poor state of their accounts.

Meanwhile, in Belgium, many RWD Molenbeek supporters are upset about their club changing its name to Daring Brussels to become more marketable to an overseas audience.

Ironically, Eagle Football and John Textor have finally achieved the desired solidarity between the fanbases of their sister clubs, including Palace, but only in each wanting to see them sell up.

Thankfully for Palace fans, that sale is pending. Unfortunately, it did not come soon enough to avoid this current situation.

Find more from Alex Pewter at FYP podcast, external

A decision on whether Crystal Palace can compete in next season's Europa League has been delayed by Uefa.

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