Dougie Freedman’s departure earlier this summer arrived as a blow and navigating his exit during such a busy period has presented various obstacles.
Freedman has been on hand to oversee parts of the transfer window, given he was at the forefront of formulating the club’s summer plan.
Indeed, many of Palace’s transfer targets were recommended by Freedman.
For instance, the club’s first choice central defensive option – Sporting Lisbon’s Ousmane Dembele – is a player identified by Freedman.
The free transfer capture of goalkeeper Walter Benitez is also one of the Scot’s recommendations.
The loss of Freedman, who has taken a multi-sport role at Saudi club Al-Diriyah, will be keenly felt.
He has been influential in the recruitment of the club’s best players, often plucking them from lower-level clubs.
Eze, Guehi, Michael Olise, Adam Wharton, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Chris Richards and Daniel Munoz are among the players recruited by Freedman from relative obscurity.
Wharton – like Eze and Guehi – has attracted top-level interest but the midfielder is likely to stay this summer.
Whether Palace can keep the England international beyond the following close season remains to be seen, with Liverpool among the clubs watching closely.
In Freedman’s absence, his number two Ben Stevens and recruitment consultant Iain Moody have, alongside Parish, taken greater responsibility in the transfer market.
Stevens, in particular, continues to benefit from Freedman’s expertise.
Palace, however, are not ruling out replacing Freedman on a long-term basis. BBC Sport has learned Matt Hobbs has emerged as an external candidate should Palace decide to appoint a new full-time sporting director.
Hobbs left Wolves earlier this summer and has been recommended to Palace, with the club’s new American owners keen to have a direct replacement for Freedman in place.
Another path the club are understood to be considering is appointing someone in a senior scouting role to replace Freedman’s renowned talent identification abilities.
In that scenario, Stevens and Moody would see their remits widen.
