Crystal Palace have ‘spent a lot of money’ improving their academy facilities and chairman Steve Parish has been ‘central’ to it, according to The Sun journalist Tom Barclay.

The Eagles have enjoyed on-pitch success in recent years, maintaining their Premier League status with ease and have now made steps towards building a prosperous future.

What is the latest news involving Palace?

Last October, England manager and former Palace academy graduate Gareth Southgate opened Palace’s new £20 million academy redevelopment, marking a new chapter in the club’s history.

The new-look youth facilities contain six full-size pitches, including an outdoor 3G pitch with floodlighting, a show pitch that will have a 500-seater stand, and a full-size covered indoor 3G training pitch.

A state-of-the-art medical rehab and extended gym therapy area are planned and will form the final phase of the project, alongside the completion of the show pitch stand, replacing portacabins with state-of-the-art facilities in an elite Category 1 Academy.

Parish has claimed the development will have a ‘transformative effect on the future’ of Palace’s fortunes while also benefitting the local community greatly.

What has Barclay said about Palace?

Barclay told GiveMeSport that although manager Patrick Vieira has the ‘final say’ on decisions such as signing players, Parish is also working hard behind the scenes.

He said: “Whilst Vieira will have the final say on all these things, and he definitely played an absolute key part, for example, in convincing someone like (Conor) Gallagher to come on loan last year, I know he was crucial to that, Steve Parish is obviously playing a huge role behind it.

“And it's not just the first-team in the way it's going, they also take a lot of credit for the way they're developing the academy.

“They’ve spent a lot of money developing and boosting that, and now it's a really impressive facility to really cash-in on and improve all those young players that are in the catchment area of south London. So, they are going in a really good direction, and he's been absolutely central to it.”

Who has come through Palace’s academy?

In recent years, the likes of Wilfried Zaha, Nathaniel Clyne, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Tyrick Mitchell have risen through the ranks at Palace to establish themselves in the first-team.

However, several other talented youngsters from the south London area have slipped through the net, going on to prosper for other sides.

The likes of Jadon Sancho, Emile Smith Rowe and Tammy Abraham also grew up in Palace’s catchment area, and their new academy should help them attract the next generation of stars.