Gary O’Neil's Squad Update: Excitement for Palacios' Debut

Gary O’Neil will walk into the weekend with a squad that looks lively, if not yet complete.

The head coach delivered a mixed medical bulletin, starting with a sliver of good news. Florentino Luis is edging closer.

“We're hoping Florentino will be back around it,” O’Neil said, stressing that the midfielder still has “a bit of work to do” but is “improving well”. The message was clear: not quite ready, but close enough to be in the conversation again.

The rest of the update underlined the bumps that remain. Azor Matusiwa is out. Jack Taylor is still sidelined. Jaden Philogene will not make it either.

“Hopefully we will get some better news next week,” O’Neil added, “but this week he will miss out.”

Even with those absences, the coach cut a content figure.

“Really pleased with where the group is at, we're in a good place,” he said, a line that summed up a summer in which the club have backed him heavily and, crucially, early.

Palacios set for Sunday bow

The clearest symbol of that backing is Exequiel Palacios. Signed off the back of major honours at club and international level, the Argentine arrives as a statement.

“Yeah, I'm sure you'll see him on Sunday,” O’Neil said, wasting no time in hinting at a debut. “He's a talented boy and has obviously had some huge success over the past few years [with] club and national level. An incredible signing by the football club.”

The excitement around Palacios is not just about his CV. It feeds into a wider feeling O’Neil says has grown with every week of the window.

“[After] the work that went in from everybody all summer to try to attract people to the project and what we are trying to build, you can feel the belief around the place just constantly growing and constantly improving.”

That “project” line is not window dressing. For O’Neil, the transfer business has become proof of a club trying to punch through its old ceiling.

Ambition on show

Asked what these signings say about the club’s intent, O’Neil pointed straight at the hierarchy.

“The ambition that this place has, the support that they give coaches and the direction of travel, is something that, as soon as it came around, I knew I wanted to be part of.”

He did not stop there. The coach name-checked the calibre of arrivals to underline the shift.

“To attract some of the players that we have – proven Premier League players in Issa [Diop] and Sasa [Lukic], and some players from all around the world – I'm really grateful for the owners' backing. I know they are committed to making this club as special as they can.”

For O’Neil, it all adds up to what he called a “fantastic summer for the club”. His message to the supporters was simple: don’t let the buzz fade.

He wants the fans to “carry the excitement” with them “for as long as they can”, riding the wave of fresh faces and renewed ambition into the season.

Abraham talk on hold, window still alive

Not every story around the club has moved at the same speed. A proposed loan for Aston Villa striker Tammy Abraham has stirred plenty of noise outside the building, but O’Neil cooled any sense of an imminent breakthrough.

“No update, as far as I am aware,” he said. “Sounds like you're further along with that than I am. Nothing to report on that.”

The door, though, remains firmly open for more movement before the deadline.

He made it clear the club are “hopefully not finished” in the market and are “still working hard to try to improve the group”.

Injury doubts, a marquee arrival ready to step into the spotlight, and a manager openly talking about more signings to come: the summer may have been “fantastic”, but the real test of this new ambition starts on Sunday.