Conference League play-off will not change Palace’s transfer plans, says Glasner

Oliver Glasner insisted that Crystal Palace will not adjust their January transfer plans despite a lengthy injury list and facing a Conference League play-off next month.

Palace drew 2-2 withKuPS on Thursday, meaning they finished 10th in the 36-team league phase, and will face an extra two games in what is already a hectic fixture schedule.

Glasner’s teamface twogames in fourdaysacross all competitions, with Leeds United next in the Premier League on Saturday before anEFL Cup quarter-final againstArsenal.

The Eagles already have an extensive injury list, with first-team stars Daniel Munoz andDaichi Kamada out until the new year, whileCheick Doucoure is also unavailable.

Ismaila Sarr is also on international duty with Senegal at the African Cup of Nations, though Glasner said the draw with KuPS would not affect his long-standing transfer wishes.

"I don’t want to talk about it because if everyone knows it gets more expensive, everything is on track," Glasner told TNT Sports.

"The club are working hard to get these deals done, we trust them, it’s to support the team, we have stayed in four competitions, I think we need one or two players."

Given the situation, Glasner made 11 changes to the side that were beaten by Manchester City, withGeorge King,Dean Benamar andJoel Drakes-Thomas making their debuts.

The Palace boss was forced to turn to his bench, though, after two goals in three second-half minutes fromPiotr Parzyszek andIbrahim Cisse put KuPS into an unlikely lead.

Jean-Philippe Mateta,Tyrick Mitchell,Marc Guehi andWill Hughes were all brought off the bench, but Palace were unable to find a way past their 10-man opponents.

And Glasner said that the only disappointment that came from the result was that Leeds will now know their starting line-up for their upcoming Premier League clash.

"We rested a few players tonight because we knew we would need them for a game in a few days," Glasner added.

"Leeds now know our starting XI because none of the players who started today will play on Saturday.

"It will be a competitive game, we’ll show a big fight and hopefully come back with three points."

Palace will discover their knockout phase play-off opponents on January 16.

The draw is seeded, meaning Palace will be drawn against one of the sides who finished in 23rd or 24th.

That means they are on course to meet Czech Republic side Sigma Olomouc or Zrinjski Mostar, who play in Bosnia and Herzegovina.