‘Forced To Return’ – Exit Happening For Crystal Palace Star | OneFootball

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Christantus Uche has been ‘forced to return’ to Spain, with Crystal Palace not keeping hold of him on a permanent basis.

Crystal Palace enjoyed an overall positive season under Oliver Glasner, finishing 15th on the Premier League table, but winning the Conference League, and that victory booked their spot in the Europa League next season.

But next term, Glasner will not be at the helm in Selhurst Park as he is leaving this summer and Crystal Palace are engaged in an active hunt for his successor.

The summer will bring a lot of changes at Selhurst Park with arrivals and departures destined to take place, but Uche looks to not be part of the club’s next chapter.

Uche arrived at Crystal Palace on a season-long loan deal in 2025 with an option to buy, which would become automatic if he started ten games, but the Eagles will not keep hold of the striker, who has also garnered interest from Real Betis.

According to Spanish daily Mundo Deportivo, Uche has been ‘forced to return’ to Getafe from Selhurst Park.

The Eagles would have needed to cough up €20m if Uche had started ten games for them in the Premier League, at which point the option to buy clause would have been triggered automatically.

However, the 23-year-old striker was not included in the starting eleven, making only 14 appearances off the bench for Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

The Nigerian international made three goal contributions in 23 games in all competitions this term and was not included in the squad during the latter stages of the season.

The development represents an issue for Getafe as last summer they included the expected fee in their accounts, although it had to be removed in January.

Crystal Palace will want to add more firepower to their attack ahead of next season, especially with talisman Jean-Philippe Mateta being linked with Juventus after a stellar campaign.

The Eagles have shown interest in Ligue 1 forward Lassine Sinayoko, but any moves in the transfer window could be put on hold as they look for a new manager ahead of the next season.

It remains to be seen what the approach from Crystal Palace will be in the upcoming transfer window, with a new boss potentially having different thoughts on Uche.

For him to return though it would now need to be on the basis of a new deal.