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Anan Khalaili's Transfer To Crystal Palace Set To Be Confirmed
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- Anan Khalaili's Transfer To Crystal Palace Set To Be Confirmed
Anan Khalaili's transfer to Crystal Palace is set to be officially announced by the club, and in many ways it's been the worst kept secret of the Summer. The standard reports came out as interest and talks progressed, but over the last couple of days the signing has been inadvertently announced by everyone other than the club itself.
Khalaili has signed his contract, completing a £24 million move from Royale Union Saint Gilloise, which includes a sell-on clause for the Belgian side.
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The signing has potential to be one of the greatest in Palace's recent history, acquiring the services of one of the sport's best young right backs.
We covered Khalaili in depth with a full scout report just under two weeks ago.
Crystal Palace Set To Sign Anan Khalaili From Union Saint-Gilloise
As good as confirmed
Whilst the information available made it clear the signing was imminent, a flurry of posts and comments has in fact confirmed the signing.
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Firstly, USG CEO Phillippe Bormans spoke about Khalaili in a recent interview and all but confirmed the move. "Khalaili has a huge future ahead of him. He has the physical attributes for the Premier League. Anan is ready for that step. He joined us with high expectations and a lot of pressure."
"But Anan has really shown, including during the Champions League campaign, that he has the physical attributes to succeed in the Premier League as well."
The comments came after USG's Champions League qualifying defeat to Bodø/Glimt on Tuesday, where Khalaili's old side lost 6-5 on aggregate. Bormans was asked about the transfer ongoing and instead of keeping his cards close to his chest, he seemingly confirmed the deal by suggesting that Khalaili will succeed in the Premier League.
That wasn't all though. A young fan who met the players in Germany on Thursday shared images of himself with the likes of Adam Wharton and Daniel Muñoz , who could still leave the club this Summer, and within those a picture of the signatures he had received.
Within those, eagle-eyed fans spotted the scrawled signature accompanied with the Khalaili's name. The same account then confirmed the signature by sharing a picture of himself with Khalaili, wearing the No.25 shirt.
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An astonishing signing for Palace
In Khalaili, Palace are securing the future of the right-hand side of their defence. The Israeli international has been compared to Achraf Hakimi , due to his consistent threat when attacking as well as his instinctive and at times incredible finishing ability.
Khalaili shone in the Champions League last season, performing consistently on the biggest stage in world football.
A move was likely for him this Summer, and he came desperately close to joining Inter Milan but failed a medical due to a cardiopulmonary issue, which meant the Italian club couldn't sign him due to league rules.
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Many other clubs in Europe had shown interest, which makes this even more of a coup for Pierre Sage's squad.
Khalaili is a player who will almost certainly be sold for significant profit in years to come, and he'll add an incredible threat to the squad. The move also means Palace can find a buyer for Muñoz, which will free up some much needed cash to invest into both central midfield and central defence too.
