Crystal Palace: 4 players could bank Steve Parish an absolute fortune at Selhurst Park | OneFootball

Crystal Palace really are sitting on a gold mine. Chairman Steve Parish and the Eagles’ recruitment team have developed a penchant for excavating young, burgeoning talent. This continuous uncovering of raw potential has meant that the Selhurst Park occupants really are “glad all over” right now, investing in unrealised stars of tomorrow for a fraction of the cost of what they’ll potentially be sold on for.

Parish could well be rubbing his hands together already, waiting for the day he receives eye-watering cheques for some of the exciting young talents in Palace's squad. Here are four players brimming with elite potential that could bank Parish an absolute fortune in the near future.

Marc Guehi

Marc Guehi was a product of Chelsea’s everlasting factory of promising youth prospects. Impressing on loan at Swansea City in 2020-21, Crystal Palace got wind of this young central defender’s talents, and ultimately tabled a £23 million offer in the 2021 summer transfer window. Signing as a relatively inexperienced 20-year-old, Guehi has flourished developmentally in South London under the guidance of both Patrick Vieira and Roy Hodgson.

Two years on from his move, Guehi is a mainstay in Palace’s back-line having started all but one of their Premier League games last season, and a fully-fledged England international. A shortage of up-and-coming English defensive talent is undoubtedly a cause for concern for Gareth Southgate, and with quality central defenders hard to come by, Guehi may well command a colossal fee when clubs who boast European football come calling - especially considering the premium placed on English players.

Eberechi Eze

Eberechi Eze is an example of when hard work meets talent. The life of an academy player isn’t always smooth sailing, even with the seemingly unlimited potential of a player of Eze’s ability. The attacking midfielder has been all around the houses as far as his academy career was concerned, from Arsenal, Fulham, Reading, and Millwall to QPR and trials at Sunderland.

Following a season’s best of 10 goals and four assists, Eze received his first cap for the England senior squad, an unforgettable milestone for any player. The 24-year-old’s rise has been nothing short of spellbinding, described by teammate Joel Ward as "mesmerising", his ability to both score and create has automatically made him a high-value player.

Michael Olise

Similar to his Palace counterpart, Eberechi Eze, the French under-21 representative turned out for a string of clubs during his youth days, including Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City, and Reading. After attracting interest while playing for Reading in the Championship, Crystal Palace activated Michael Olise’s £8 million release clause - an absolute bargain in retrospect.

Since 2021, the flamboyant, technically gifted winger has made 72 appearances in all competitions, recording 26 goal contributions across the two seasons. At just 21, Olise is only set to improve year-on-year as his goalscoring record suggests. Bayern, Chelsea and Man City were all linked with the midfielder during his Reading days and performances for Palace since ahve surely only enticed them further into eventually making a bid.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi

As a player that could potentially save Steve Parish millions this summer, having demonstrated an abundance of raw ability on loan at Charlton last term, it’s just a matter of time before the skillful 20-year-old becomes a Premier League player. The Palace academy graduate bagged 15 goals and eight assists in League One last season, a mighty return considering it was the forward’s maiden season in senior football, while playing for an Addicks side that floundered to a mid-table finish. With clubs like Luton Town already sniffing around, if Rak-Sakyi can acclimatise to Premier League life quickly next season, he'll surely be of interest to top clubs.