The Future of Crystal Palace’s Youth Talents
Crystal Palace has an iconic history of exciting young players. Talents like Wilfried Zaha, Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and the like, have been getting Palace crowds on their feet for decades. However, under Oliver Glasner, the Selhurst faithful weren’t always treated to those bursts of youthful passion. With a new man in the dugout, Eagles fans will hope that Pierre Sage can bring back the vibrance of youth in SE25.
SAGE’S STYLE
To find out whether Sage can bring back the adolescent element, let’s first look at his utilisation of younger players at former club Lens.
Last season, the French side ranked eighth among clubs in Europe’s top 5 leagues for under-21 minutes, totalling 10,956 minutes of playing time. Those minutes were divided up amongst 11 different players. That averages out to just about 1,000 minutes per player (just more than 11 full games).
This number is slightly inflated by goalkeeper Robin Risser (turned 21 in December of last year) who totalled 3,420 minutes, playing all but one game last season. If he is taken out, the average falls to about 750 minutes (just more than 8 full games). A significant drop from the initial number, yes, but still a lot of playing time.
Looking past his youth involvement, it’s also important to consider how much Sage rotates his squads overall. Taking a brief look at his past starting XIs, in his last six games as Lens boss, he didn’t even pick an identical forward three, much less starting eleven. This bodes very well for youth players in red and blue, hoping to gain top-level first team experience.
Given this information, it’s safe to say that Pierre Sage will indeed be restoring the blossoming bench brigade this season. The question is: who will feature? Crystal Palace has plenty of young talent, but which of them will feature consistently for the Eagles this season?
BEFORE WE BEGIN…
Before we start off, it’s important to note that this piece will not consider *all* of Palace’s potential young stars. Matheus França, for example, has already been discussed in a separate article, and fellow youngster Jaydee Canvot is already a starter. With that said, let’s look at someone who’s already a fan favorite.
JOEL DRAKES-THOMAS (17) – FORWARD
Joél Drake-Thomas first hit the Selhurst stage back in December 2025, when then-boss Oliver Glasner was forced to heavily rotate against Finnish champions KuPS in the UEFA Conference League. He impressed over his 90 minutes with his footwork and willingness to run at defenders. In more romantic terms, he looked like a vintage Palace winger at the ripe old age of 16.
While not particularly a goal threat, JDT shows signs of being a magnet in attack, someone who can draw in defenders to create space for others.
Joél Drakes-Thomas’s chances, in all honesty, are greatly limited. The starters for his position are just about set, and although the competition for substitute appearances is limited, his age and unrefined talent will stand in the way of him securing any consistent minutes this year.
Realistically, JDT’s role will be confined to sporadic cameo appearances, though as you’ll come to see, this isn’t all that bad for this category of player.
There is also the possibility of a loan move. However, with him being only 17, it would seemingly make more sense to have him learn from Palace’s experienced core and continue getting regular minutes with the U21s.
DEAN BENAMAR (18) – LEFT BACK
Dean Benamar is another player who made his debut against KuPS in the UEFA Conference League last season. Unlike JDT, however, he hasn’t appeared for the first team since then (not counting pre-season).
Aside from his understandable lack of first team action, Benamar has featured consistently for the U21 and U18 side, winning the U18 Premier League Cup last season.
Benamar and Drakes-Thomas have a very clear on-field chemistry with each other, linking up well down the left hand side. That doesn’t mean a whole bunch, but it’s nice to have a friend.
Benamar’s fate will likely be similar to JDT’s, with a higher likelihood of a lower division loan. Not only does Tyrick Mitchell have the left-back spot in a chokehold, the addition of the versatile Oscar Mingueza makes it nearly impossible for him to breakthrough at senior level this season.
RIO CARDINES (20) – WING BACK
Mingueza also poses a problem for our next subject: Rio Cardines. To his credit, he has done what the other two haven’t, that being start a Premier League game. That start did come in a glorified friendly against already-champions Arsenal on the last day of the season, but that’s besides the point.
A point that can be drawn from that outing is the fact that while he did look lively on the flank, especially in attack, he was beaten much more often than not. He lost 60% of his ground duels, and was dribbled past three times over the 90 minutes.
Negatives aside, Rio Cardines is a player we should be seeing a bit more of (even if it is when the camera pans to the substitutes bench).
His ability to play on both sides of defense and attacking tendencies makes him a useful back-up as Pierre Sage looks ahead to a packed calendar in the upcoming season. His international experience for Trinidad and Tobago certainly doesn’t hurt either.
While likely still being confined to substitute appearances, Rio Cardines has a slightly more hopeful outlook than the other two.
JESERUN RAK-SAKYI (23) – FORWARD
Rak-Sakyi has been up-and-coming at Palace for what feels like forever now. Now at the age of 23, one can almost barely consider him a youngster. Hell, he’s only two weeks older than established starter and World Cup winner Yeremy Pino.
His four loan moves during his time at Palace have yielded 114 appearances with 28 goals and 12 assists to show for it (0.35 g/a per game for those counting). His most successful spell came at fellow South London club Charlton Athletic in the 2022/23 season, where he recorded 15 goals and 9 assists in 49 games for the then League 1 side.
Given those stats, it seems harsh to say that he’s just not good enough; he does show some promise. However, those loan spells came in Turkïye and England’s second and third tiers.
This specification would suggest that at this point, the best move for both player and club, is to get him a permanent move to one of those leagues (most likely the EFL Championship).
TO CONCLUDE
You may have noticed by now that the situation doesn’t look too good for Palace’s youth. The takeaway from this analysis is largely that Sage will surely use his younger elements, if he finds them to be worth using.
That said, his hand will likely be forced. Crystal Palace will play a minimum of 48 games next season, which is likely to extend into the mid-to-high 50s should we progress in cup competitions.
This schedule will likely produce injuries, and will certainly produce fatigue, elements that will push Pierre Sage to rotate frequently, something he has been more than willing to do in the past.
