EAGLES – Take it to the Limit
Can Crystal Palace do the impossible and get straight back up? If they keep their key loan signings and biggest stars fit, there may be no limits, says Helen M Jerome.
Head Coach: highly-rated new boss Jo Potter arrives from Rangers with the aim of getting the Eagles bouncing back to the WSL
New signings: Lola Brown (above centre, loaned from Chelsea); Emma Watson (loaned from Man United); Justine Vanhaevermaet; Jamie-Lee Napier.
Outlook: Grabbing the influential and very versatile Belgian, Justine Vanhaevermaet from Everton looks like very good business. But the really eye-catching signings are arriving on season-long loans.
First, teenage prodigy Lola Brown – who has already appeared and impressed in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge – plus fellow teen Emma Watson, a Scottish international with bags of promise.
Keeper Shae Yañez is solid between the sticks behind stylish Jamaican defender Allyson Swaby, and also keep an eye out for the tricky Netherlands winger Ashleigh Weerden, who can dribble and shoot with the best of them.
If they can keep stars like Wales striker Elise Hughes (above left, who missed almost the entire 2024-25 season with an ACL injury) with Annabel Blanchard (above right) fit alongside her, they can build back better. Expect flying wingbacks and swift transitions from Potter’s Eagles.
Will finish: around 4th, so close but no cigar.
