Crystal Palace sign Anan Khalaili as Pierre Sage rebuild continues | OneFootball

Right wing-back arrives a week before season start

Crystal Palace have announced the signing of Anan Khalaili from Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.

The Eagles have landed the wing-back for a fee of around £21million, and the deal will include further add-ons.

The Israel international, 21, arrives on a five-year deal, with an option for another year after that.

He moves to Selhurst Park amid reported interest in Daniel Munoz, the south Londoners’ first-choice right wing-back.

He becomes the fifth signing under new manager Pierre Sage, after they landed Dwight McNeil in a swap deal for Brennan Johnson, Oscar Mingueza, Evann Guessand and Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Palace have already lost Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea, while right-sided defensive options looked in short supply after Danny Imray’s move to Championship side Wrexham and Nathaniel Clyne’s departure upon the expiry of his contract.

“I’ve followed the Premier League – it's a new challenge for me – and I've followed Crystal Palace for a long time. I'm happy to be here."

The youngster, who can also operate further forward on the wing, helped to win USG a maiden top-flight title in 90 years. He netted three times in the Champions League for the Belgian side as they also scooped up the Belgian Cup.

He had already joined up with his new team-mates before the club had even announced his arrival, with fans spotting the new recruit in a Palace tracksuit with the squad on their training camp in Germany.

Khalaili signed autographs and posed for pictures with supporters, causing Palace to tease his signing announcement with a jokey “Anyone got a spare autograph book laying around” tweet on Saturday morning.

The Eagles’ preparations for the upcoming campaign have been strong. A 3-0 defeat by Bromley was not an ideal start to Sage’s reign, but he has since overseen 3-1 and 2-1 wins over Ula and Fulham respectively.

They open their Premier League term at the Hill Dickenson Stadium against Everton.