This Fulham Crystal Palace preview has been updated on 3 October 2026. It now carries Pierre Sage’s clearest explanation yet of how his four deadline-day signings fit his plans, with the trip to Craven Cottage still the immediate task.
Palace and Fulham both opened the season with two winless fixtures, and each side is still searching for a first league win in the Premier League.
The deadline-day arrivals and Sage’s thinking
Deadline day brought four new arrivals to Selhurst Park: Quinten Timber, Honest Ahanor, Darío Osorio and Ben Chilwell. They joined a summer window that also brought in Dwight McNeil, Evann Guessand, Óscar Mingueza, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Zavier Gozo, Anan Khalaili and Axel Disasi.
Sage used his pre-match press conference to explain the thinking behind each of the four deadline-day additions, rather than confirm a starting line-up for Craven Cottage. He went through every player’s role in turn, and supporters wanting the wider picture of the rebuilt squad can check our squad guide.
How the new signings fit Palace’s plans
On Ahanor, Sage pointed to a specific gap in the squad. According to Pierre Sage: “Honest [Ahanor] the centre-back we signed because we need one, especially a lefty [left-footed]. He’s a young player with a lot of perspective. We will see what he is able to do.”
Timber, Sage said, changes the balance of a midfield that already has plenty of similar options. According to Pierre Sage: “With [Quinten] Timber, we needed this kind of player. We have four players in that position, but they are all similar. He is maybe more box-to-box.”
Osorio was signed for pace and a shot from distance. According to Pierre Sage: “For Osorio, we need a player with his speed in this position. He is able to shoot from far and he has scored a lot of goals like this.”
Sage has the longest history with Chilwell, having faced him last year while he was in charge of Strasbourg against Lens. According to Pierre Sage:
“And for Ben [Chilwell], he knew the club. He knows the city. I know him because he was one of my opponents last year [at Lens] with Strasbourg. I like the player. I like the guy. He will give us experience, he’s a really good player. Can play two positions. He can play wing-back, but he played centre-back a lot of the time last year. He will give us a lot of confidence as well, because he is a happy guy.”
What happens next
Sage was clear that none of the four will be handed a game automatically. According to Pierre Sage: “Sometimes the player is ready because they have already played and trained with their [former] club. Sometimes they need the time. It depends on the case. The most important thing is to put in the player who is able to win. That’s my job, to choose this player.”
No starting line-up has been confirmed for Craven Cottage. With both clubs still chasing a first league win, the Fulham Crystal Palace fixture gives Sage his first chance to show how the new arrivals change his side on the pitch rather than just on paper. Full detail on the summer rebuild, including the quotes above, sits in our original preview.
