Adapting to life at Crystal Palace was a challenge for Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who had previously played for Manchester United.
The Dutch defender spent the 2017/18 season on loan at Selhurst Park, after speaking to Frank de Boer and being promised regular football.
However, De Boer was sacked after four games without a win and was replaced by Roy Hodgson, who returned to the club in 2023 after previously managing it for four years. Despite having to adjust to losing matches, Fosu-Mensah enjoyed his time with the Eagles and played 21 times in the Premier League that season.
He also learned from Hodgson, who had previously managed the English national team, and his assistant Ray Lewington.
“I joined Palace on loan when Frank de Boer took over as manager at the start of that season,” he told World Football Index. “He called me and he made it clear that he wanted me which is what I needed to hear as I knew that I had to go and play regularly in the Premier League.
“Unfortunately, Frank left the club after four league games. We did not win any of our first seven games in the Premier League which made the season ahead very tough.
“This was also a learning curve for me as I had arrived from United where we won most of our games.
“However, Roy Hodgson came in as manager after four games and I went on to have a good season. The fans at Crystal Palace are fantastic and always create a wonderful atmosphere at Selhurst Park.
“Roy Hodgson is a big-name manager in England as he has managed the English national team and I learned a lot from him and his assistant Ray Lewington.
“The club itself is a brilliant club and I really appreciate what the club did for me as that was the season that I broke into the full Netherlands team and became an international player.”
Fosu-Mensah is now at Bayer Leverkusen, having left United two seasons ago, and played more league matches for Palace than he did for United, making 21 appearances compared to 16.
