Crystal Palace sign Anan Khalaili from Union Saint-Gilloise on five-year deal
Crystal Palace have signed Israel international Anan Khalaili from Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise on a contract running until 2031, the club confirmed on 15 August 2026.
Palace paid a reported £21m fee for the 21-year-old, who can play at full-back or on the wing (BBC Sport). Earlier reports had put the fee at roughly €28 million (about $32.5m), but the more recent figure is the one Palace's deal is understood to reflect (Times of Israel). Khalaili completed his medical the previous Sunday as Palace worked to finalise the transfer (The Athletic).
Khalaili arrived at Union Saint-Gilloise in 2024 and quickly became part of something historic. The Brussels club won their first Belgian Pro League title in 90 years and added a Belgian Cup during his time there. He scored six goals last season, three of them in the Champions League — Europe's elite club competition, where Union Saint-Gilloise were making their mark on the continental stage (BBC Sport). Palace describe him as "a powerful wing-back or winger blessed with pace and an eye for goal" (cpfc.co.uk).
He has 16 caps for Israel and, in his first interview with Palace TV, set out his ambition to win silverware in south London (cpfc.co.uk).
Khalaili is the fifth addition to Pierre Sage's squad this summer. The rebuild at Selhurst Park has taken several shapes. Defenders Takehiro Tomiyasu, previously of Arsenal, and Oscar Mingueza arrived on free transfers. Winger Dwight McNeil came in as part of an exchange deal that sent Brennan Johnson the other way. Forward Evann Guessand returned to the club on a season-long loan from Aston Villa (BBC Sport).
What stands out is the profile Palace are building. Sage has a defender-turned-winger who scored in the Champions League at 21, flanked by signings who bring Premier League experience and, in Guessand's case, familiarity with the club itself. For a side shaping its identity under a manager still early in his reign, Khalaili adds pace, versatility and a winning habit forged in one of European football's more romantic stories — a 90-year wait for a league title, ended by a squad he helped lead.
The Premier League season is already underway. How quickly Khalaili adapts to English football's tempo will shape how soon Palace fans see the player who shone in Belgium. But the raw materials are there: speed, directness, and a habit of scoring when the lights are brightest.
