Most Valuable Academy Graduates at Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace’s academy has evolved from a local talent hub into one of the Premier League’s most respected player development programmes, now boasting Category 1 status and a state-of-the-art base in Beckenham. Generations of homegrown stars have delivered value both on the pitch and in the transfer market, underpinning the club’s modern business model.​

The Academy as a Talent Factory

The club proudly lists historic graduates such as Johnny Byrne, Steve Kember, Kenny Sansom and Vince Hilaire alongside modern names like Gareth Southgate, Wilfried Zaha, Nathaniel Clyne and Tyrick Mitchell. Since 2000 alone, more than 50 academy products have made competitive first‑team appearances, with recent graduates including Jesurun Rak‑Sakyi, David Ozoh and Asher Agbinone.​

Biggest Transfer Windfalls from Academy Graduates

Financially, the most “valuable” graduates are those who generated major transfer fees while being developed at minimal cost in south London.

• Eberechi Eze – Although signed from QPR rather than raised entirely in-house, Eze’s development into a full international at Palace culminated in a club‑record £68m sale to Arsenal in 2025, the highest fee the Eagles have ever received. His rise reinforced the club’s reputation as a finishing school for elite attacking talent.​
• Michael Olise – Like Eze, Olise arrived as a young prospect and exploded at Selhurst Park before a £50.8m move to Bayern Munich in 2024, then the second‑biggest sale in Palace history. His trajectory showed how Palace can transform promising youngsters into Champions League-ready stars.​
• Aaron Wan‑Bissaka – A pure academy success story, Wan‑Bissaka joined the Palace youth ranks as a winger, was converted to full‑back and sold to Manchester United for an initial £45m (widely reported as close to £50m with add‑ons), a world‑record fee at the time for a specialist right‑back. That deal has become the benchmark example of the club’s youth‑to‑profit model.​
• Wilfried Zaha – The poster boy of the modern academy, Zaha joined as a child in 2004, debuted in 2010 and was sold to Manchester United for around £10m in 2013, later returning and cementing his status as a club legend. While not Palace’s biggest sale on paper, his combined impact in promotion, survival and resale value makes him arguably the academy’s single most influential product.​

Iconic Homegrown Stars Beyond Fees

Value is not only measured in fees. Several graduates provided immense sporting value through performances and longevity:

• Kenny Sansom – Widely regarded as one of England’s best left-backs of his generation, Sansom emerged from the Palace youth system in the 1970s before moving to Arsenal and winning 86 England caps. His success put the Palace academy firmly on the national map.​
• Gareth Southgate – Developed at Palace and later England’s national team manager, Southgate’s journey from Selhurst Park defender to international coach was recognised when he officially opened the redeveloped Category 1 academy in 2021. His story symbolises the pathway from youth ranks to the very top of the game.​
• Nathaniel Clyne & Tyrick Mitchell – Both full‑backs came through the system and went on to play Premier League and European football, with Clyne earning England caps and Mitchell establishing himself as a top‑flight regular.​

Most Valuable Crystal Palace Academy Products (Sporting & Financial)

*Eze and Olise are included as “most valuable” because Palace maximised their market and sporting value after recruiting them young, even though they were not original schoolboy products.