We simulated a wild £114m Liam Neeson takeover of Crystal Palace - this is who they signed
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Whether it’s the Class of 92 at Salford City, Tom Brady getting involved at Birmingham City or Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney inspired Wrexham’s push up the football pyramid, celebrity investments into our beloved football clubs are becoming increasingly regular.
And that got us here at 3 Added Minutes thinking. Just how would other celebrity takeovers and investments work out? For example, a Hollywood actor, a well-known film star and the man you certainly want to hear laying threats down the phone line, Liam Neeson, who is known to be a Crystal Palace fan.
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Hide AdSo, in the latest in the series of celebrity ‘takeovers’ we allow Hollywood star and Palace fan Neeson to invest in the Eagles and appoint him as new chairman at Selhurst Park. So it’s over the Football Manager 2024 as we fire up the editor, update the Eagles squad to its present form and play out the remainder of the 2024/25 season before allowing Neeson to step into the chairman’s office at the start of next summer’s transfer window, ploughing the entirety of his estimated £114m net worth into the club. Here is how it played out.
A new manager appointed
After the Eagles ended the season sat in sixteenth place in the Premier League, the previous owners opted to sack manager Oliver Glasner prior to Neeson taking over as chairman. The vacancy remained open when the ‘Taken’ star took over the reins, leaving him with a major decision to make as he settled into life at Selhurst Park.
The likes of Steve Cooper, Graham Potter and Kieran McKenna were all linked with the role when Glasner departed - but it was Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers who was persuaded to leave the Scottish Premiership champions and return to the Premier League with the Eagles.
Who was let go under the new regime?
Imagine getting that phone call from Neeson and getting the tone he used in ‘Taken’? A truly frightening prospect. Anyway, a number of players who clearly didn’t have a particular set of skills were immediately allowed to leave Selhurst Park as their current contracts came to and end. That meant Nathaniel Clyne, Joel Ward, Jeffrey Schlupp, Remi Matthews, Will Hughes and Matt Turner all left the club. The only player with an expiring contract that was allowed to remain with the club was Tyrick Mitchell as the left-back secured a new three-year deal.
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Hide AdThere were other departures as Rob Holding left to join Middlesbrough in a £1m deal and Jefferson Lerma returned to Bournemouth in a move that netted Palace just over £14m. Odsonne Edouard was allowed the join Leicester City in a £19m permanent deal after spending the season on loan at the King Power Stadium.
Who joined Palace under their new chairman?
Firstly, Naouirou Ahamada and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi returned from respective loan spells at Rennes and Sheffield United and formed part of Rodgers’ squad. The new Eagles boss was given a £52m transfer budget that was increased with the £34m received from the sales of Holding, Edouard and Lerma, Perhaps unsurprisingly, Rodgers returned to his former club Celtic to secure the services of Japan international Kyogo Furuhashi in a £21m deal and then persuaded another of his old clubs, Liverpool, to allow Harvey Elliott to spend the season on loan at Selhurst Park.
With a clear need for defensive reinforcements following several departures, Rodgers landed Sunderland centre-back Dan Ballard in a £15m agreement before securing free agents Harry Maguire, Tariq Lamptey and Stefan de Vrij after they left Manchester United, Brighton and Inter respectively.
A £9m deal saw Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega join the Eagles and he was followed from the reigning Premier League champions by midfielder Matheus Nunes, who will spend a season-long loan with Rodgers’ side.
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