Yohan Cabaye signing for Crystal Palace is a transfer coup
By Lee Kilby
Yohan Cabaye’s transfer from Paris St Germain to Crystal Palace has now been confirmed, and Crystal Palace fans will still be pinching themselves.
Crystal Palace has been doing very well for themselves over the past couple of years. First they got promoted into the Premier League and last season they finished a respectable 10th.
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Now they have a manager who not only loves the club, but the fans also love him. Alan Pardew – a former Crystal Palace player – has excelled since his appointment in January. He has brought out the best of his players, earning some brilliant results along the way. Since he joined the club, Palace have defeated Manchester City and Liverpool.
Signing a player of Yohan Cabaye’s talent is a transfer coup. Crystal Palace have broken their transfer record to sign him, £10 million – potentially rising to £13 with add-ons. But as far as I’m concerned, they have just guaranteed their Premier League safety for the upcoming season.
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When a new player arrives at a club it’s customary for supporters to consider what he’ll bring to the team. Crystal Palace know he is going to bring a lot to the team. They might remember his performance the last time he visited Selhurst Park. Newcastle were 3-0 winners that day in December 2013 – a result that kept Alan Pardew’s Magpies in the top six and Palace in the drop zone. Cabaye scored the opening goal.
Pardew praised the “functionality” of his team on that day, with one exception. “The bottom line is the player has a true character and he added an x-factor for us today. When you’re at the top of the Premier League you can’t stay there unless you have got x-factor and he gives us that.”
Cabaye left for Paris Saint-Germain the following month and life at Newcastle was very different for Pardew and his players from that point onwards. In Cabaye’s final two seasons at St James’ Park, the team’s win percentage was 45 per cent with him and 21 per cent without. Newcastle didn’t replace him and last season, as Pardew helped Crystal Palace finish 10th, Newcastle had to wait until the last day of the season to confirm their Premier League status.
The Frenchman had scored seven goals in 19 games when he left for PSG midway through his final season at Newcastle, a tally surpassed by the end of the season only by Loic Remy at Newcastle – and by nobody at Palace. Despite not recapturing that form at PSG, that goalscoring potential is still there, but there’s more to Cabaye’s game.
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Pardew has spoken of the need for “mavericks” on the flanks and a “chaos factor” in attack since returning to Palace, but the class of Cabaye in midfield would give the team the calm and control that only quality can bring. A huge upgrade for the team.
What really stands out about this signing is the virtual absence of risk. Football is full of surprising transfers that earn the intrigue of the neutral, not just team’s supporters. But rarely can that come with such certainty of success.
The most important factor in this transfer is undoubtedly his relationship with Alan Pardew – “I like him because he gave me confidence to play” – and, importantly, is no luxury player. He can complement Palace’s tough-tackling approach rather than diminish it.
Cabaye said he was focused on his “new life” and believed that Palace could “compete to get into the top eight”.
He said: “I also know the gaffer and have worked with him before and I’m confident with him. I want to do my best for him because he’s made a big effort to get me to come here, as well as the chairman.”
Last year the form of Thiago Motta, Javier Pastore, Marco Verratti and Blaise Matuidi meant Cabaye was used largely as a substitute at PSG.
The French club won the Ligue 1 title, the French cup and the French league cup last season.
In many ways, I see similarities between Crystal Palace now and Southampton a couple of seasons ago. Southampton has just had a change of manager after lingering around the relegation zone, and it completely rejuvenated their squad. After some important signings, they caught the eye of many people.
Their manager, Mauricio Pochettino left for Tottenham and several first-team players departed. However, after Ronald Koeman came in, the new manager signed many talented players and put his own stamp on the squad and this season Southampton have just qualified for the Europa League.
Cabaye has bags of experience, internationally and in the Champions League. This signing could now help Crystal Palace push on and compete for European places.
At 29, and with 38 international caps for France, this transfer is a sign of how far Crystal Palace have come and is a coup for Alan Pardew and the club.