In our exclusive interview, the former Premier League midfielder discusses Palace's battle with UEFA, Alexander Isak's situation at Newcastle and his Championship predictions.
Darren Ambrose says he’s hopeful that Crystal Palace can hold on to Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze amid speculation linking the two star players with moves away from the club.
Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing Guehi while Arsenal have been heavily linked with Eze, and Ambrose believes it would be ‘a travesty’ if the pair were to leave Selhurst Park this summer.
In our exclusive interview, Ambrose also discusses Palace’s chances in Europe this season, Alexander Isak’s potential Newcastle exit and why his former club Ipswich are deserved favourites in the Championship promotion betting.
Is there a danger of Crystal Palace’s season preparations being derailed by this UEFA battle?
Yeah, I think it’s going to affect the preparations for the season of course. There’s nothing happening at Crystal Palace in terms of transfers. They’ve got the left back in Borna Sosa, he’s the only one so far. There’s obviously a lot of speculation regarding the players in terms of who’s going to be there next season.
Whether Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze are still going to be there remains to be seen. I think this is all based on what’s going to happen – are they going to be in the Europa League or the Conference League?
I think that dictates the budgets, but I’m disappointed with what is happening. Nothing will take that moment of winning the FA Cup away from Palace, or the joy of their supporters. But it’s disappointing what this is leading to, and hopefully the right decision is given to Crystal Palace.
If it’s not to be, and they’re in the Conference League, then that will also be the first time they’ve ever played in Europe, so that should be something they’re excited about.
But I do think this will affect their preparations for the new season, and it needs to be sorted as soon as possible.
Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze have had speculation around their futures all summer, how important is it for the club that those two stay?
They’re probably the two key players for Crystal Palace. To lose those two players would be a travesty for the football club.
There’s also a domino effect of players – I know Adam Wharton is going to have a lot of clubs after him, and Jean-Philippe Mateta has already had a bid rejected for him, if we’re to believe the reports. So if those players leave the football club, that could have a knock-on effect on other players.
Marc Guehi, he’s got a year left on his contract and he’s already had an opportunity that they couldn’t agree with Newcastle. Of course, he’s captain of the football club even at a young age. There’s a lot of experienced players at Crystal Palace, and yet he’s the leader.
And Eze? He’s an off-the cuff-player and you don’t see many of those around anymore. He’s a match-winner, so to lose those two players for Crystal Palace will be a real disappointment, but hopefully they can sort something out, particularly Marc Guehi as he has a year left on his contract.
Winning the FA Cup last year was tremendous, and he led that team to that, so obviously he’s the main man. He’s the one that everything goes through, all the exciting football goes through, and he’s improving year on year as well. For me, he’s an England international regular – that’s what he needs to be.
If Palace are in the Conference League, do you think they have a good chance at winning the competition?
Yes, I do. I think any team from the Premier League should have a realistic chance of going far in that competition, if not winning it. Yes, there are other good clubs in it, but Premier League clubs have the pedigree to go on and win this competition.
It will be a disappointment to be out of the Europa League because I think if you give Crystal Palace a choice – and if you give those Palace fans a choice as well – they would pick Europa League all day long.
But then they could get back in the Europa League on merit by winning the Europa Conference League. It’s going to be one hell of a European tour for those fans because I know what they’re like to travel.
I know what it’s like under the lights at Selhurst Park, it’s going to be rocking, so I’m really pleased for them, and I hope they can go far in the competition
Would Palace have a chance at winning the Europa League?
I do think even if they were in the Europa League they’d still have a chance of winning it – or at least going far in the competition – but probably not as good a chance as they will in their Europa Conference League.
I they’re smart enough to know that, as well. Crystal Palace know that they’ve got a huge opportunity if it’s the Conference League, and they’d have a slight opportunity in Europa League.
We saw that with Manchester United Vs Spurs last season – the English teams went all the way to the final, so it could certainly happen.
I’m just looking forward to this ruling and where they’re going to end up.
Can you see a way back at Newcastle for Isak?
Fans will definitely accept him back, but if I talk about as being a player I have to ask, will the players accept him?
In my opinion, yes, they will. I don’t think this is going to cause any disturbance in the changing room whatsoever.
I’ve been there when players want to leave a football club and that’s their personal preference, and if they want to leave, then that’s up to them.
So as players, you want the best players in your team – and Isak is one of, if not the best player at Newcastle.
So yes, it’s going to disappoint some of the players, but if he came back fully committed, then he’d of course be accepted in the dressing room. Fans are maybe a little bit different because that may take a little longer.
First and foremost, I do hope he does stay with Newcastle, and if he does end up staying – and all this transfer saga gets put to bed – the interesting one will be what 25th of August with Liverpool at home.
That could be intriguing – no matter whether he’s at Liverpool or Newcastle.
But we know what support is like – a couple of goals in the first few games and showing that desire and that commitment to the football club, and then he’ll win them back, 100%.
Would you still take Isak over Sesko, or is it time for a fresh start with Sesko?
I mean, of course, you’d prefer to have both, but whether that’s something that’s possible I don’t know.
But Isak was probably the best Premier League striker last season, so to lose a player like that will have a knock-on effect, but Newcastle can’t be held to ransom – I know it’s been said before, but they can’t.
I know previously what he was demanding was £300,000 a week. I think he was on maybe £120,000, so that’s a huge rise, then there’s the knock-on effect of that if they gave him it.
Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Anthony Gordon may go saying ‘Where’s our new contract?’. Tonali as well maybe.
No club should be held to ransom by a player because no player is bigger than the football club. I know it’s a cliché, but it’s certainly true.
So would I have Sesko over Isak if Isak left? Sesko is a real, real talent. We’ve seen that with RB Leipzig. He’s a different type of player in my opinion, he’s physical, strong, and scores all sorts of goals.
I think Eddie Howe is renowned for improving players as well. When Isak came to the football club, he only scored six goals in the previous season, so he certainly can improve a player, and Benjamin Sesko would be a fantastic acquisition for Newcastle if Isak’s there or not.
What happens between Pope and Ramsdale? Would you give Ramsdale No. 1 status immediately, or start the season with Pope between the posts?
I think it’s a strange decision. It’s a strange signing for me. This is nothing against Aaron Ramsdale – I think he’s a fantastic goalkeeper. He’s had a great career up to now, of course. He’s had some relegations on his belt, which is not ideal, like last season at Southampton. I like Nick Pope. He may not be able to distribute it as well as Aaron Ramsdale on the floor, but maybe that’s what Eddie Howe wants.
I just see this as a sideways move, if they’re changing Nick Pope for Aaron Ramsdale. I think they’re both talented, I just think there are more positions at Newcastle that need sorting, rather than the goalkeeper situation.
It was an eyebrow raiser. He signed, and I think he’s going there to compete for number one. I don’t think he’s going there to sit on the bench.
I think he’s been told maybe he’s going to be starting. I don’t think he would want to see out his career as a number two at Newcastle – and that may signal the end of Nick Pope at Newcastle.
Hopefully not because he’s been involved in moments like that trophy lift last season. For them it was a fantastic achievement.
Overall, it was an eyebrow-raising decision but hopefully Ramsdale can have a successful career at Newcastle.
If you were to pick one or the other for the first game season, who would you be leaning towards?
I would go for Nick Pope first game of the season. I just think he’s been there long enough. He knows the defenders, knows the players.
He looks like he’s a good character, he looks like he’s well-liked, and Aaron Ramsdale will be once he arrives in the dressing room.
I’d just stick with Nick Pope, I really would, and I think he deserves it.
I think maybe the mistake against Celtic in preseason might help out Eddie Howe. He might make the decision and say look, we’re going to go with a fresh start with Aaron Ramsdale.
But for me, Nick Pope starts on the first game of the season.
Do you think the Newcastle squad is deep enough to handle a Premier League and Champions League campaign as it stands?
In terms of squad depth, no, I don’t think they’ve got enough at the moment.
There’s still a few weeks left, of course, until the window shuts, but they need reinforcements.
They’ve lost Callum Wilson, Sean Longstaff, and Lloyd Kelly, who didn’t play much, but lost those three players and brought in Anthony Elanga and Ramsdale.
In terms of quality, they’ve got the quality to deal with a European tour and the Premier League, but depth – I think they need more, and I think they just maybe are waiting for this situation with Isak to get out of the way before they decide how much they’ve got to spend, what players they need.
They don’t have long, they’re running out of time, but I just feel they need maybe four or five more players.
Where do you think they will finish in the Premier League?
I don’t think top four or top five. I think maybe they’ll be competing for the last Europa League spot or Europa Conference spot at the moment because we’ve seen it – they’ve got a great squad in terms of quality, but we saw what happened last time they were in the Champions League.
Trying to navigate a Champions League and a Premier League campaign with a small number of players in terms of quality is difficult, and they struggled.
I just think Eddie Howe will know that, so he’ll want to change that and add some players.
At the moment, I think maybe they’ll be competing for 6th, 7th, or 8th spot, in my opinion.
Ipswich Town are the favourites to win the Championship in the coming season. Do you agree with that and who are the biggest rivals in the promotion race?
I would agree with that. I’ve tipped Ipswich to not only get promoted, but to win the Championship.
I think they’ve got enough about them, and I think they’ve got enough quality.
It’s such a tough league, to be honest. Even Birmingham, Wrexham, and Charlton that have come up – we don’t know how they’re going to handle it.
I think they’ll all handle it reasonably well, but Ipswich will win it.
I think Southampton will be up there as well, but we don’t know how Will Still is going to handle the Championship. It’s so different to what he’s been used to.
Ipswich are the winners for me. They’re their favourites to win that league. They’ve got enough quality, and Kieran McKenna, keeping him in charge is probably the best thing that can happen for him because he is a leader of that club and he’s allowed to do what he wants.
He’s got experience in this league as well now. Yeah, they’re favourites for me.
How important will a fast start be for Ipswich, given they won so few games last season?
Starting well will be important. I mean, they didn’t win many last season. They only won four in the Premier League.
But in the previous season’s Championship, I think they won 28 games, so they’ve shown that they have a great squad.
They’re a great team in this league. Yes, they struggled in the Premier League, I know that, but all three of the teams that got promoted last season ended up going down.
They’ve got players who will deliver in this league. Conor Chaplin, of course, and Sammie Szmodics. With Blackburn he had a lot of success.
Jack Clarke, Omari Hutchinson – we know what kind of players they are. Leif Davis as well, so they’ve got real, real quality, and they’ve got experience in the Championship.
I just feel that they’ve got enough in terms of quality of squad to go straight back up again.
Who do you see as the key players for Ipswich in having a successful season?
I think Sammie Szmodics could stand out. Look, he was injured a little bit last season, and he didn’t start as many games as he’d have liked.
I know Sammie, I speak to him quite a lot and he was disappointed that he couldn’t play Premier League as much as he wanted and help the team, but he scored about 27 goals for Blackburn last time he was in the Championship.
He’s definitely one to watch for me. I think the timing of his runs into the box is really difficult to defend. If he stays fit, I can see him having another 20 plus season goal season.
And of course, Omari Hutchinson, if they can keep hold of him. I think there will still be people wanting to sign him.
If Ipswich can keep hold of him and play him in his favoured position on the right-hand side, where he can cut in onto the left.
We’ve seen him in the under-21s throughout the summer playing on the left and the number 10, but I love him on the right cutting in on the left.
I’ve seen some of the goals he can score with his left foot, so he’s real key for me.
I’m also going to pick Jack Clarke – he’s not played as many games as he’d have hoped since arriving, but he’s a real talent.
I did a shooting piece with him last season where we went to the training ground, and it was him me, and Leif Davis.
Some of the strikes, some of the finishes, he can produce, with the talent he’s got.
I’m really looking forward to seeing if he gets a full run of games to see what he can produce.
Ogbene picked up an injury and it was a sore injury which kept him out for a very long time, but yeah when he did play a small amount of games he was exciting.
He’s a real talent – fast, comfortable on the ball, powerful – he was a really one of those that you thought he would he was going to be one to watch and rip up the Premier League – but of course he picked up the injury which is frustrating.
I think if Ipswich keep him fit and gets a run of games in him, then he could be one to watch for sure.
When he signed I was really impressed with how he came in and started his campaign with Ipswich, so I’m looking forward to seeing him.
Dara O’Shea as the new captain is important. Obviously Sam Morsy left who was a great servant to the football club, but Dara O’Shea has been given the armband now.
I’ve done a lot of work with Ipswich throughout the seasons and he’s probably the most vocal on the pitch that I’ve seen.
He certainly deserves the opportunity as captain, and I’m really pleased that he got the armband.
For me, personally being involved in Ipswich, I believe we could see him lifting a Championship title at the end of the season.
Town haven’t beaten Norwich for 16 years, is this the season they finally do it?
That’s a sore one for us living in Suffolk! That’s the one that they hate. The season Ipswich went up, I think they drew two or lost one-nil.
We felt that was the season that they were going to break the streak. It didn’t happen once again, but Ipswich got promoted. The support was giving back to the Norwich supporters that yeah, we ain’t beating you but we’re in the Premier League!
I think this is the season, I really do, and I know people have said it year on year for 16 years.
It’s a long time, and I’ve been involved in. I’ve been involved in some of those games as well, and it’s not nice losing to your rivals.
But this has got to be the year. Norwich struggled a little bit last season in the Championship, so you’d expect a Premier League-quality squad coming down to the Championship to have enough to break that duck and get the win over Norwich.
Lots of speculation regarding Chuba Akpom, what does he bring to the league and where should he chose?
I think he’ll be the main man, the main focal point wherever he goes.
Obviously, Liam Delap moving on to Chelsea frees up that spot in Ipswich Town’s team.
Akpom’s got experience in the Championship with promotions as well. He played for Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough, and Hull – he’s a good goalscorer. He came through at Arsenal so you know that he’s clearly very talented.
He’s gone around the divisions, gone around Europe playing, so I’m really hoping he picks Ipswich.
Hopefully, he can make an impact because again, I still think they need a couple more players.
After losing Liam Delap and Sam Morsy, I still think they need a couple more to come in. If Ipswich can get that one over the line, it’ll be great for them.
A lot of attention will be on Wrexham this season and how they cope in the Championship, how do you think they’ll do and could they possibly achieve promotion?
I mean, it will be Wrexham’s biggest challenge, it really will. I mean back-to-back-to-back is an incredible journey. Look, I know it’s clichéd again, but it’s a Hollywood club, and that’s obviously starting with the owners.
I’ve tipped them to make playoffs this year. I think with the board behind Wrexham, when I think about it, I won’t rule it out.
You cannot rule out anything in the Championship. They’re signing a lot of good players as well from other clubs in the division. Keifer Moore has signed, there’s rumours that Jamie Vardy could join, and rumours about Nathan Broadhead from Ipswich as well.
I’m not sure what’s happening with that one, but I think 7 million was offered, so they’re spending as well.
I played under Phil Parkinson at Charlton, and he’s a very driven individual. He will know the expectations at that football club. He’ll know that four promotions on the bounce – we probably won’t ever see that again.
So he’ll be doing everything he can to do that, and I think they’ll make playoffs.
If they get to the playoffs, then you never know.
Are you a fan of the Wrexham story?
I absolutely love the Wrexham Story. I know it’s mixed emotions in terms of other supporters, but I love to see what they’ve achieved back-to-back-to-back.
Even last season, you think that’s their biggest challenge, that they’re not going to get promoted – and they do again. They nearly fell off, but they didn’t.
They ended up doing it and I would love to see it happen again.
I’ve got no affiliation with Wrexham. I like the film Deadpool – that’s probably the only thing that I’ve got associated with them!
But yeah, I’d love to see him get promoted again. Of course I want Ipswich to go up, but for Wrexham to go back-to-back-to-back-to-back – no one’s going to see that happen again. It would be incredible, and I love it.
Charlton are back into the Championship after a five-year absence, how do you see your former team coping?
I don’t think they’ll be fighting for promotion, but I don’t think they’ll be fighting relegation either.
I think it will be a mixed season in terms of wins and results, and performances, but I’m pleased they went up.
They’ve been down there too long. I was there against Wycombe at the Valley, and the reaction when the goal went in, the reaction at full-time by Nathan Jones, just shows how much he loves that football club. It shows how much he wants to succeed there.
He got a bit of criticism over that celebration, didn’t he? And then went on to beat Leyton Orient in the final.
So I think with him in charge, with the players that they’re signing as well, I think they’ve got an opportunity – but I just think it will be a midtable finish and then maybe the following year they’ll be looking to, to push for promotion.
Does it help that Nathan Jones is the man in charge as they make their return to the second division?
I think so, yeah. Obviously Nathan Jones signed the few players that he’s worked with before at Luton, I think Reece Burke Amari’i Bell, he obviously got Thomas Kaminski as well from Luton who I felt was a great goalkeeper.
He’s a great acquisition for them. With the signings he’s making – if he can gel that team quickly – they’ll win more than they lose this season, but I can’t see him being up the top end of the division.
I just think they’re comfortable enough, and watching them in the playoffs, in the playoff final and in the playoff semi-final, I think there’s a unity, there’s a togetherness.
Matt Godden’s a great goalscorer as well, and he’ll do well at this level.
I think they’ll finish mid-table, maybe just creep into the top half, and you’d have to credit Nathan Jones for that – for getting them playing and getting them playing the way he likes, and if he does keep them in the Championship, I think it’s a good achievement.
Jones has brought three former Luton players to Charlton, is that a risk, considering how their season played out last year?
I don’t think so. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.
He has a type, he knows the players, and he knows what they’ll give him.
For the the players themselves, Reece Burke, Amari’i Bell, and Thomas Kaminski – they’ve all played Premier League. They’ve gone up and they’ve been relegated twice, so yeah, they don’t want that on their CV.
They’ll have a point to prove as well, those players. They will come in and know what the manager’s about, and the manager knows what they’re about.
They don’t need to gel in terms of that relationship because, they all know each other. So yeah, I’d have no worries if you’re a Charlton supporter.
Is there any worries over Southampton, Ipswich or Leicester potentially going back-to-back relegations?
Maybe Leicester, but none of them should. I know it was a tough year for all of them involved, but we don’t know what’s going to happen with Leicester.
I don’t know if the PSR situation has been sorted at the moment, but they’re not signing anyone.
They’ve got the same squad going into this season, and they are probably on a bit of a low.
I spoke about Will Still earlier. We don’t know how he’s going to react.
I think he’s a great manager, but I think Southampton have got enough. I think Southampton will be up there in terms of pushing for promotion.
I think Leicester could – out of the three of them – finish the lowest. I could be completely proved wrong.
I could be getting clipped up and proved wrong in May next year, but yeah, I think they’ll struggle a little bit and that’s because of what’s going on off the field more than on it.
What will be the most important things for Will Still to get right in the Championship?
The fixtures and the fixture pile up – Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday.
You’ve got to look after your squad, and look after your players.
There are egos, of course, there are egos at every football club, so he’s going to have to deal with players like that.
But, I’ve been really impressed with his career up to now. I think Will Still is a real student of the game. I think he’s learning all the time. I think he’s very adaptable and confident he will do well next season.
I think, just looking at him, more than a lot of managers, football is his life. You can tell that’s the case just by learning day in, day out.
I think he’ll adapt really well in this division and I think he’ll adapt really well in England. Hopefully he does because I think, for the last few years, he’s been on the radar, hasn’t he?
And everyone’s wondered how he would get on in England, so hopefully he does do well.
I don’t see Southampton having any issues this season. I don’t see Will still having any issues, but yeah, he’s got to navigate through a real tough season in terms of the fixture pile up.
