Tomiyasu’s first interview: I wanted to be in a competitive environment

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7 Aug 2026

New signing Takehiro Tomiyasu has given his first interview as a Crystal Palace player to Palace TV.

Tomiyasu, 27, arrives in South London having previously represented the likes of Arsenal and Ajax, as well as playing for Japan at two World Cups.

Now he is ready for a fresh challenge, helping Palace be successful in a new era under Manager Pierre Sage.

You can watch the full interview below!

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The versatile defender initially joined on trial last week and has quickly become accustomed with his new teammates.

“I'm so excited to be here,” Tomiyasu told Palace TV. “I've already trained with the team for more than one week, so I'm already settling in well.

“I wanted to be in a competitive environment, so this is where I wanted to be.

“I think it's a good time to join this club and I will try to give everything that I have, to add something to this club.”

Tomiyasu has already experienced Palace’s pre-season first hand and believes the intense sessions will ensure the team is ready for the big kick-off, away to Everton on Saturday, 22nd August.

“Training is so hard,” he said. “But we are in the pre-season and every time the pre-season has to be hard to be ready for the season, especially for the Premier League, because the Premier League is the most intense league in the world.

“But I think we've been doing good.”

As for what he wants to achieve at Palace, silverware is firmly on the agenda.

“Hopefully we will get good results. I'm here to win something with this club,” he added.

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