Chelsea seal loan deal for exiled Ben Chilwell | OneFootball

Crystal Palace have officially announced the arrival of Chelsea exile Ben Chilwell on a loan deal for the rest of the season.

Enzo Maresca made it abundantly clear there was no space in his squad for Chilwell at the start of the season. The Italian has lived up to his word, handing the 28-year-old left-back a total of 45 minutes across all competitions. Chilwell didn't even appear in one of the club's Premier League matchday squads, let alone make it onto the pitch.

Palace, fresh from inflicting yet another home defeat on Manchester United this weekend, agreed a six-month loan for Chilwell, who still has a contract at Chelsea until June 2027.

Oliver Glasner teased Chilwell's arrival before his team brushed aside United at Old Trafford on Sunday. "I expect one more signing on a position where we have just one player playing with his good foot there," the Palace boss cryptically told BBC Sport. "Let's see who it will be."

Following the season-ending injury to Chadi Riad, Tyrick Mitchell was Palace's only left-footed full-back before the arrival of Chilwell.

Palace were not only making moves on deadline day, but rejecting them. The Eagles were reportedly offered £70m by London rivals Tottenham Hotspur for club captain Marc Guehi. The pivotal centre-back spent most of last summer mired in transfer intrigue from Newcastle United only to stay at Selhurst Park - which will remain his home ground for the rest of the season.

Chilwell hasn't started a Premier League game since he captained Chelsea to a 2-2 draw with Brentford on the first Saturday of March 2024 - more than 11 months ago. It remains to be seen how long it will take the Champions League winner to regain full match fitness, but he would be eligible to feature in Palace's fourth round FA Cup tie with Doncaster on Monday.

"I'm very excited to be here," Chilwell told the club's official website. "Crystal Palace is a club that's going in a great direction. You look at the last few months, with the results and how the team's playing, and it was a no-brainer to make the decision to come here."