“This club is in a good moment, winning three titles in two seasons,” Takehiro Tomiyasu said on completing his move to Selhurst Park. “Here is where I wanted to be.” For a 27-year-old who spent four years at Arsenal and began this summer as a free agent, that is quite a declaration — and the Tomiyasu Palace switch tells you plenty about where the Eagles sit right now.
Confirmed on Friday after a successful pre-season trial, the signing is the second piece of Pierre Sage’s tactical reset, following Óscar Mingueza through the door. With first-choice centre-back Maxence Lacroix having left for Chelsea, Palace needed defensive cover before their Europa League campaign — and in the Japan international they have added top-level experience without paying a fee.
What Tomiyasu Palace fans can expect
The appeal is versatility. Tomiyasu can operate at full-back on either flank or slot in at centre-back, exactly the kind of flexibility a manager reshaping his back line values. He made 84 appearances for Arsenal between 2021 and 2025, having arrived in England from Bologna after an earlier spell at Sint-Truiden, and spent the second half of last season on loan at Ajax.
There is pedigree at international level too. The 46-cap defender was part of Japan’s World Cup squad this summer, and Palace chairman Steve Parish pointed to that experience when the deal was announced.
“Takehiro has experience at the highest level of European and international football.”
Steve Parish, Crystal Palace chairman
A back line still under construction
Lacroix’s departure to Chelsea left a genuine hole at the heart of the defence, and while Mingueza and now Tomiyasu have eased the numbers, Sage’s rebuild looks far from finished. Palace have not announced the length of Tomiyasu’s contract, and the recruitment is expected to continue.
As BBC Sport reported, the Eagles hold an interest in a possible loan deal for Chelsea defender Josh Acheampong and retain an interest in Brest centre-back Raphael le Guen. Neither is done, and supporters tracking every twist can follow the club’s transfer live blog for the latest — but the direction of travel is clear enough: Sage wants defenders who can cover more than one role.
Why it matters now
Europa League football is the reward for last season’s Conference League triumph, and it brings a demanding schedule that will stretch any squad. Palace are also working within UEFA’s squad cost ratio, which caps spending on wages, transfers and agent fees at 70% of revenue — so free transfers with Premier League miles on the clock are exactly the sort of business that suits the moment.
Under Oliver Glasner, Palace won the FA Cup, the Community Shield and the Conference League — three trophies in two seasons that turned Selhurst Park into a place players want to join. Sage now inherits that momentum, and the challenge of sustaining it. Tomiyasu, for one, needed no persuading. “Here is where I wanted to be,” he said. On the evidence of Palace’s recent history, it is not hard to see why.
