For many Crystal Palace fans, the first signing of the summer was greeted with excitement.
Oscar Mingueza, a versatile defender who has played at youth and senior international level for Spain, has joined on a free transfer after his contract with Celta Vigo expired. There seems to be plenty of upside to the deal, given his pedigree.
However, for some, there was also a degree of concern.
Not because Mingueza is in any way an underwhelming signing, but because of fears over what it might mean for the future of Maxence Lacroix.
Mingueza has played at centre-back previously, so the concern was that signing him was a way of preparing for Lacroix’s departure given that the Frenchman is one of Chelsea’s main targets at centre-back this summer.
But that is not so; the two are not in any way linked. It does not necessarily mean Lacroix will stay at Palace this summer; he could still join Chelsea, but this deal is unrelated to that possibility.
Mingueza is not a centre-back and will play at wing-back for Palace, his primary position. While that is more likely to be on the right, as cover for Daniel Munoz, he is also joining to help out on the opposite side, where Tyrick Mitchell has been the first choice.
The 27-year-old comes in not as a guaranteed starter; it would be a significant challenge to displace either Munoz or Mitchell, both of whom have been so dependable and crucial to Palace’s way of playing, but as a squad player who can compete for a place in the team and offer depth.
With no transfer fee paid due to him being out of contract, it appears a strong signing. He came through the ranks at Barcelona’s La Masia academy and played 66 times for the first team, including in Champions League fixtures, before his move to Celta Vigo in 2022. He featured on more than 100 occasions across four seasons for them.
The Spanish side were keen to keep him but sources familiar with the situation, who wished to remain anonymous to protect relationships, have told The Athletic his dream was always to play in the Premier League. Talks with new Palace manager Pierre Sage, and the understanding that the project in south London was similar to Celta’s, helped convince him to make the move.
There had been other Premier League options and some clubs in Serie A, but the preference was for Palace as his best option.
Oscar Mingueza was named in the Europa League team of the season for 2025-26 (Ion Alcoba Beitia/Getty Images)
He is unlikely to play at centre-back unless in an emergency. Instead of a Lacroix replacement, he is effectively coming in to fill a gap left by Nathaniel Clyne, whose departure at the end of his contract this summer meant Palace were slightly short.
Yet it will also be an improvement on the 35-year-old Clyne, whom Sage opted not to keep. Mingueza is a very attacking full-back who is good on the ball and an intelligent player who reads the game well. He is in the peak years of his career and three years younger than Munoz, whose injury problems were well handled by Palace’s medical team but could still linger next season.
Having that cover bodes well for Palace, who found it difficult to cope when Munoz was injured last season, with no replacement capable of maintaining his kind of performance levels.
So, too, does Mingueza’s European experience. That Champions League familiarity at the start of his career was followed by Europa League appearances, many of which came last season as Celta were knocked out in the quarter-finals. He has played 13 times in the competition, something which will help Palace.
That lack of experience was something previous head coach Oliver Glasner repeatedly alluded to. While most of the current squad featured last season in the Conference League, Mingueza adds more know-how in Europe, and he was named in the Europa League team of the season last year.
As a youngster at Barcelona he won the UEFA Youth League in the 2017-18 season.
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Four appearances at senior international level for Spain are also promising signs, even if the last of those came in 2021, while he was also involved in the Spain squad for the Tokyo Olympic Games, held in 2021.
In theory, Mingueza can also cover the right-sided No 10 position, but that is not anticipated to be the case at Palace and he has not joined with that in mind.
His arrival will help add the depth that was desperately missing last season, particularly given his versatility, and aid Palace in focusing their funds elsewhere to strengthen other positions. A four-year contract also keeps him tied down for his best years.
It is a promising start to the summer recruitment. Depth and competition for places are exactly what is required, particularly with the eight league phase games in the Europa League.
There is no cause for alarm here — Palace fans ought to be encouraged and excited by this signing.
