It's almost certain that Palace will be appointing Pierre Sage as coach, likely within the next 48 hours, so Chris will have a structure to plug into when he returns to duty. Sage plays a very similar 3-4-2-1 system to the one Glasner (who's off to AC Milan) has used over the last 2-3 years. With various player sales certain, as well as new arrivals to build an EL-capable squad, he's going to be a VIP player for them next season
Pretty cool that he's been a central figure in one of Palace's most successful eras. Was a cog in a much bigger machine, but an important cog nonetheless
'I'M READY. I'M READY:' Recovering Richards says he is available for USMNT in World Cup opener - Front Row Soccer
🏴 Premier League Players : Interceptions🥇 M. Senesi (Bournemouth, 29) — 239🥈 J. Tarkowski (Everton, 33) — 224🥉 Casemiro (Man United, 34) — 220🏅 K. Mavropanos (West Ham, 28) — 197🏅 C. Richards (Crystal Palace, 26) — 196📊 Free trial: https://t.co/McR5zrPkTO pic.twitter.com/kKPDyIQr6n— DataMB (@DataMB_) June 17, 2026
Not surprising. He seems to be peaking now and really coming into his. I really like how nice and fun he is except at times when he's playing and needs to be the man.
Palace also looks like they’re about to sell Lacroix to Chelsea. Leaves them a bit light on center back given they didn’t sign a Guehi replacement in January.
Check out Chadi Riad for Morocco. He is having a breakout World Cup. Much like Canvot this past January, Riad may come from "nowhere" to be an integral part of the Palace backline.
Maxence Lacroix looks set to join Chelsea on a $50 million move. First Guehi now Lacroix. When is Richards going to get his move to a top club? He's just as good as those guys
If Chris wants a big money move, he should start by changing his name (and pronunciation accordingly): Christophe Richard, now pronounced with a French accent.
Is he? I am not trying to be a eurosnob or undervalue chris but i am not sure he is. Which is okay, rhey are both very good players
I mean after Lacroix got absolutely torched by the English and Bellingham embarrassed him on the 6th goal, I'd say he's just as good
Being equally good is only part of the equation - Richards is hurt a lot for a centerback. Over their two seasons together at Palace, Lacroix has like 1,700 more league minutes. I wouldn’t pay anywhere near as much for Richards.
Even in what was Richards’ most healthy season by a mile, he still had 600 fewer minutes in all comps than Lacroix and missed a European final with injury. Maybe Palace has cracked the code on his durability. But teams are going to be (rightfully) wary of his track record.
Does he need to aim for higher? A starter on a respectable midtable Premier League club is an achievement in itself.
I mean the ideal is a club where he’d at least get the opportunity to play in the Champions League on a regular basis. But otherwise not really.
I'm not sure how much he'd play for a perennial Champions League team...but he's a nailed on starter at the Europa level and below
If we're doing that, are we going to ignore the travesty of a sequence when Lukaku got the 4th against us because of Richards awful effort?
French fans were saying the same about Lacroix when Guehi was there as No. 1. Then Guehi left and Lacroix became No. 1. Not hard to see Chris becoming "the man" in defence this season.
The very top players always aim for higher. That's why e.g. Alvarez wants to leave Atletico for Barca If Chris isn't aiming for higher that's a strike against him
Yeah, that was on Chris, but I do think he was caught by surprise that Lukaku pressed him when the game was basically already won. Doubt he ever makes that mistake again.