OLIVER Glasner said selling Marc Guehi on deadline day would have been “impossible” as he praised chairman Steve Parish for standing firm after Tottenham Hotspur bid £70million for the England International.
Glasner said that the Eagles would have had no time to find a replacement for their captain.
After seeing Michael Olise and Joachim Andersen leave last summer, Palace were able to keep hold of their key players in the winter window.
“It was clear that we can’t sell a player on deadline day as we can’t find a replacement in a few hours. It is impossible,” Glasner said. “Credit to the chairman. Crystal Palace has to be number one in all considerations. We lost Trevoh Chalobah [after Chelsea recalled him from his loan] and Chadi Riad through injury. There were no negotiations.”
Palace signed defender Ben Chilwell on loan from the Blues. He has played only 45 minutes this season but Glasner believes the FA Cup fourth-round tie at Doncaster Rovers on Monday could be an ideal game for him to make his debut.
“It can be a big chance for him,” Glasner said. “He has to compete with Tyrick Mitchell because he has had an excellent season for us, very consistent on a very high level. But [Chilwell] is doing really well in training.
“Ben played many games for Chelsea and then, for reasons I don’t know and I don’t care, he didn’t play.
“That was the only opportunity that we could sign him here, because if he is a starter for Chelsea, we don’t have a chance to sign him.
“Unfortunately, he couldn’t take part in Chelsea’s team training in January.
“Team training is a little bit different, so we have to give him some days and maybe weeks, but the plan is he will get minutes at Doncaster.”
Palace reached the EFL Cup quarter-finals before losing 3-2 to Arsenal.
Glasner said: “England is one of the few countries where you have a second chance. We want to take our second chance.
“We don’t think about Wembley, we are focused on Doncaster.
“When you go as a Premier League club to a League Two club it is your responsibility to win this game.”
