The inside story of Crystal Palace's 'conveyor belt' Deadline Day | OneFootball

Frantic end - including a failed hijacking and private jets - has left Eagles fans with renewed hope

Crystal Palace’s manic deadline day came to a dramatic close at the stroke of 1am on Wednesday morning.

Two hours after the transfer window officially closed, Palace finally put the seal on their incoming business for the day as Chilean winger Dario Osorio was announced on loan with a conditional obligation to buy next summer.

Remarkably, even as supporters woke up this morning, more deals have been trickling out of Palace, with Justin Devenny and Romain Esse leaving for Stoke City and Millwall, respectively.

A frenetic end to an otherwise languid summer window has given Palace renewed hope, with the club able to keep hold of Ismaila Sarr while bringing in Osorio, Ben Chilwell, Quinten Timber and Honest Ahanor.

Before the calm came the storm, though, and it looked for a long time as if Palace’s deadline day was going to be dictated by an ultimately unsuccessful tussle with Sunderland for Lyon winger Malick Fofana.

For hours both clubs were left in the dark as the terms of the financial package for Fofana, and his representatives, were negotiated and then re-negotiated.

Private jets were on standby, with some reports suggesting they were in the air and others stating they had never left France.

The knock-on effect was tangible, with Standard Sport understanding that Lyon have had to wait until this morning to announce the signing of Japanese winger Keito Nakamura as Fofana’s direct replacement.

Palace eventually lost out on Fofana, but they had options in reserve, and quickly turned their attention to longstanding target Osorio.

With time running out, though, and deals for Chilwell and Timber still to be finalised, Palace sent in three deal sheets before the Premier League’s 11pm deadline.

This gave Palace an extra two hours to complete their business for the day, and Standard Sport understands the club’s London offices were like a conveyor belt of frenzied activity as Palace rushed to complete all the formalities in time.

With Osorio and Timber both completing their media responsibilities downstairs, Chilwell was moved into an upstairs office as Palace worked against the clock to get everything sorted.

Having arrived just before 11pm, Chilwell was finally announced as a Palace player shortly before midnight, with Timber and Osorio following over the course of the next hour.

After more than two months of the transfer window, Palace’s summer ultimately boiled down to two panic-induced hours which could set their season on a different course.