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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Rachel Steinberg and Press Association

Oliver Glasner makes transfer admission as more Crystal Palace players leave

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner revealed his players have become unsettled following transfer rumours and the imminent departures of two more players.

Defender Joachim Andersen's move to Fulham was announced following Glasner's press conference on Friday afternoon, while the Austrian confirmed Jordan Ayew was in the final stages of negotiations with Leicester and would not be available for West Ham's trip to Selhurst Park.

Influential attacker Michael Olise left for Bayern Munich in July, while England and Palace defender Marc Guehi has been linked to Newcastle.

Asked if he expected Guehi to remain a Palace player when the transfer window shuts next Friday, Glasner said: "I expect everyone to be a Crystal Palace player until someone tells me something different.

"Especially the player, because it's always their decision. So yes, I expect him, I expect everyone here, because we now have 18 players with (Matheus) Franca injured.

"We know that if we lose one or two players we also have to replace them, because we need a competitive squad over now 37 Premier League game days, and so this is the job we have to do within the next week."

Midfielder Will Hughes is also a doubt after leaving Friday's training session after 20 minutes with an illness, while Franca is set for several weeks on the sidelines with a rib fracture.

Glasner confirmed Guehi will captain the side on Saturday, and was full of praise for the 24-year-old, who turned heads as one of the standouts in Gareth Southgate's Euro 2024 side this summer.

He said: "It's his talent and especially his mentality. He's so hard working, he's always trying to improve, and he's always very self-critical, I think sometimes too much self-critical."

While Palace have been linked to outgoing Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling, Glasner brushed off speculation and said: "(He) is a fantastic player, but it doesn't mean he will be a Crystal Palace player. I think you can name about 20 players from Chelsea, because they have a big squad."

The Palace boss admitted the particularly potent rumour mill swirling around south London has had an impact on his players, despite his team's best efforts to keep the focus on the Irons encounter.

Glasner added: "It was quite noisy, I would say, and we try to build a shield around us but we're all human.

"Of course it is. You can't avoid this, you hear this noise. So yes, it had a little bit of an influence but we will try to focus on the big picture.

"We tried to build a shield but there were some heavy hits on the shield, and so sometimes we were a bit shaken, but during the training today the feeling changed.

"That's why I'm now smiling because the players gave me a good feeling that they can deal with everything that happened and that they are ready for a tough game against West Ham and for everything."

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