Crystal Palace used Saturday’s mid-season friendly with Bristol City to showcase the depth of talent developing within the Academy, with seven Young Eagles included in the first-team squad at Selhurst Park. Chuks Okoli, Amaari Sealey and Adler Nascimento all came on to make their non-competitive senior debuts, while Harry Lee, Nat Kalembo, Caleb Kporha and Seb Williams were named on the bench.
The fixture provided Palace with competitive minutes during a rare three-week international break and gave supporters an opportunity to see several Academy prospects in a first-team setting. Lee’s selection was another step forward for the 21-year-old goalkeeper, who has already built extensive senior experience through spells with Torquay United, Exeter City and a series of loan clubs. He has regularly trained with the first-team goalkeepers and previously featured in senior matchday squads, but Saturday was the first time he had been named among the substitutes for a senior Palace squad.
Kalembo’s rise has been particularly rapid. The versatile defender made his competitive Under-18 debut as a substitute in April before progressing through pre-season and into the Under-21 setup. He made his competitive U21 debut in the EFL Trophy against Swindon Town and subsequently appeared against Blackburn Rovers and Plymouth Argyle. At just 15, his place among the substitutes against Bristol City represented his first inclusion in a Palace first-team squad.
Kporha was the most experienced first-team player among the group. Having joined Palace at Under-16 level, he made his senior debut against Fulham during the 2024/25 campaign and later started the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. He made four first-team appearances that season and also collected an FA Cup winners’ medal. After an injury-affected previous campaign, the versatile midfielder has returned with renewed purpose, scoring for the U21s against Swindon in the EFL Trophy.
Okoli and Williams provided further evidence of Palace’s midfield pathway. Okoli, a Palace player since the age of seven, was named U18 Player of the Season after a campaign in which he made 33 appearances, scored five goals and supplied nine assists. He also captained the side in the FA Youth Cup semi-final and the U18 Premier League Cup final victory over Manchester United. After returning from injury, the 18-year-old stepped onto the pitch in the second half against Bristol City. Williams, meanwhile, has developed into an important U21 figure after captaining the U18s and earning a professional contract. He has started all six U21 matches this season, scoring against Paris Saint-Germain and Swindon, and had already been included on the bench for Palace’s Europa League opener against Lech Poznan.
The other two debutants arrived at Palace after impressive development elsewhere. South Londoner Sealey joined from AFC Wimbledon following a season in which he recorded 47 goal contributions and helped the club complete a national quadruple. The attacking midfielder made his Palace debut against Paris Saint-Germain before registering an assist in his first start against Swindon. He entered the Bristol City game alongside Nascimento in the closing stages. Nascimento, who joined Palace from Peterborough United in 2021 after making his professional debut at 16, has spent more than five years progressing through the Academy. After scoring all five of Palace’s pre-season goals and producing two goals and two assists this season, he finally made his non-competitive senior debut in the 85th minute.
