Two club-record signings - but are Palace papering over the cracks?

Crystal Palace ended a horrendous January in fitting fashion - with Dwight McNeil's switch from Everton breaking down at the 11th hour.

Norway striker Jorgen Strand Larsen arrived from Wolves in a deal worth up to £48m but, seeing a loan agreement for McNeil with a £20m obligation to buy in the summer failing due to late paperwork, transfer deadline day would have done little to ease the fans' mood.

In signing Strand Larsen, Palace broke their club record for the second time in the same window, having acquired forward Brennan Johnson from Tottenham for £35m early last month.

But with their captain Marc Guehi gone without a replacement found, striker Jean Philippe-Mateta wanting away but failing a deadline-day medical, manager Oliver Glasner already on his way out and a deal for McNeil breaking down, have the struggling Palace addressed the faults running through the spine or their team?

Palace are the second-biggest spenders behind Man City this month but have they merely stuck a glossy bandage over their problems?

Less than eight months ago, Palace fans were living a dream as their side won the FA Cup and qualified for a first-ever European campaign.

They would have hoped for that triumph to be a springboard for further success - a platform to grow and continue their upward trajectory under Glasner.

But it has proved anything but that.

Eberechi Eze, their match winner against Manchester City at Wembley, was the first to depart for Arsenal in a deal worth up to £68m in the summer.

Eze scored 40 goals in 169 games for Palace and claimed 14 goals and 11 assists in all competitions last season.

Without their star forward, Palace were already developing cracks on the field when the January window laid the turmoil at the club bare.

On 16 January during a routine news conference, Glasner, who joined from Eintracht Frankfurt in 2024 and guided the club to their first major titles, announced he will leave when his contract expires at the end of the season.

The news came with centre-back Guehi on the verge of completing his move to City.

Guehi has since left and top scorer Mateta almost followed him through the exit doors this window, only for his move to AC Milan to be called off because of issues with his medical.

Amid all the drama unfolding in the background, Palace have suffered on the pitch.

They are only three points ahead of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest and are 12 games without a win all competitions, including nine in the league.

Their form since mid-December makes for damning reading - winning the fewest points, scoring the fewest goals, losing the most games, and recording the worst goal difference in the division since matchweek 16.

Crystal Palace are the biggest expected goals (xG) underperformers in Europe's top five leagues this season.

Based on the number and quality of chances they have had, a team would have scored 13 more goals than Palace have in their 24 league games (25 goals versus an xG of 38).

And Mateta has been the chief culprit for their struggles in front of goal, scoring four fewer than expected - though seven other Palace players are also underperforming their xG by one goal or more.

While only six players have scored more than his eight goals in the league this season, only Erling Haaland and Igor Thiago have a higher xG than Mateta (12).

The biggest xG underperformer in the league, only three players have been more wasteful than Mateta across Europe's top five leagues.

Mateta, however, has been nursing a knee issue - the reason why Milan ordered additional tests for the France forward during his medical.

And the silver lining for the Eagles is that in order for teams and players to massively underperform their xG, they have to be good enough to get a lot of quality chances in the first place.

While you want players to take their chances, it shows that Palace and their attackers are getting a lot of things right.

Palace will also want the Strand Larsen from 2024-25 at Selhurst Park rather than the one this season, a shadow of his former self.

The striker scored 14 league goals during the past campaign but has only found the net once this term in 22 matches.

Rarely has a club-record signing been met with such scepticism.

Palace have spent £48million on Strand Larsen yet the jury is out. The Norway international has scored just once in the Premier League season after all.

Of course, Palace are banking on last season's Strand Larsen arriving, his 14 goals last season pushed Champions League Newcastle into trying to sign him last summer.

But there are supporters who still need to be convinced. Palace are in malaise.

Michael Olise is gone. Eze is gone. Guehi is gone. Glasner, their manager, is leaving at the end of the season – if not before. The team is disassembling at a rate fans are apprehensive about.

Last season's euphoric FA Cup triumph seems a distant memory; the club's spiral towards the relegation zone is in stark contrast to the jubilation of nine months ago.

Whether Strand Larsen is the man to inject some positivity back into Selhurst Park remains to be seen.

The addition of Johnson will provide further options for an attack that has misfired in recent weeks, but the late saga around McNeil will have done little to ease concern.

Uncertainty reigns at Palace - can the new signings provide some direction?