Crystal Palace sign US prospect Zavier Gozo from Real Salt Lake

Crystal Palace have signed 19-year-old United States forward Zavier Gozo from Real Salt Lake, adding one of Major League Soccer’s emerging young attackers on a five-year contract. BBC Sport reported the fee at $15 million, approximately £11.1 million, and said completion of the move remains subject to international clearance.

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Gozo’s route to Selhurst Park began in Real Salt Lake’s academy, which he joined in 2021. After impressing for the club’s MLS Next Pro affiliate, Real Monarchs, he made his senior league debut in October 2023 at the age of 16. That early promotion gave him first-team experience well before his move to England.

His production increased during the current MLS campaign. According to BBC Sport, Gozo scored six goals and supplied four assists across Real Salt Lake’s first 16 league matches of the year. Those performances also earned him selection for the MLS All-Star Game, adding another marker to a season that brought him to Palace’s attention.

The Utah-born forward has also progressed through the United States national-team pathway. He has represented the country at every level through the under-23 side, although he has not been described by the report as a senior international. Palace are therefore acquiring a player with domestic first-team minutes and extensive youth international involvement, but one who is still at the start of his senior career.

Gozo is Palace’s sixth addition of the summer window. BBC Sport listed Oscar Mingueza, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Dwight McNeil, Evann Guessand and Anan Khalaili as the five players who arrived before him. His five-year agreement gives the Premier League club a longer-term option in attack while the international-clearance condition still has to be completed.

The signing comes days before Palace begin their Premier League campaign under new head coach Pierre Sage. Their opening match is away to Everton on Saturday, with kickoff scheduled for 15:00 BST. The club has not outlined in the report whether Gozo will be available for that fixture, so his immediate involvement remains uncertain while the transfer awaits clearance.