Anan Khalaili has given his first interview since putting pen to paper on the biggest transfer of any Israeli footballer's career, and his message to Crystal Palace's supporters was blunt: this was no whim.
"I've been following Crystal Palace for a long time," the 21-year-old told the club's in-house media in comments carried by ONE, framing the move less as a leap into the unknown than as something he had quietly been tracking from Belgium, and before that from Haifa.
Khalaili completed his switch from Union Saint-Gilloise this month in a deal reported at around £21 million, making him, according to Ynet and the Times of Israel, the most expensive transfer involving an Israeli player in the sport's history. He has signed a long-term contract running through 2031, with the move still subject to routine international clearance.
He arrives as Palace's fifth signing of the summer, according to ONE, joining Munganduza, Tomiyasu, McNeil and Gassama in a squad being rebuilt around last season's cup success.
Asked about that recent history, Khalaili was generous rather than reverent, telling the club he felt Palace "deserved to win three titles" — before making clear he had not signed simply to admire what came before him. "I'm excited... I can't wait to start," he said.
On the division he is stepping into, his answer was short and unambiguous: "It's the best league in the world."
He was equally direct about what he thinks he offers a manager still shaping his first-choice XI. "I'm strong, I'm fast... I love attacking, but I also love defending," Khalaili said, a description that matches a player who has operated both as a wide defender and as an attacking winger through his career so far.
That career began at Maccabi Haifa, where ONE credits him with 52 appearances and 15 goals, before Union Saint-Gilloise brought him to Belgium in the summer of 2024. He repaid that move quickly: a Belgian Pro League title — Union's first in 90 years — and a Belgian Cup followed, alongside crucial Champions League goals that lifted his profile across Europe.
He has also become a fixture for Israel's senior national team, with 16 caps to his name.
The path to Selhurst Park was not straightforward. A move to Inter Milan collapsed in July after Khalaili failed to clear Italy's strict medical checks, opening the door for Palace to move in ahead of other Premier League interest. Whatever the detour, Khalaili's first words as a Palace player suggest he sees this as the destination he had been aiming for all along.
