Lifelong Palace fan Joe Whitworth joined the club at the age of 13 and worked his way through the Academy to become the club's youngest-ever Premier League goalkeeper, making his debut away at Brighton & Hove Albion, no less, in March 2023.
At just 19 years and 15 days-old, he became the fifth-youngest goalkeeper in the club's history, and followed up his Brighton appearance by starting against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
He is a goalkeeper in the modern mould, with excellent distribution skills as well as shot-stopping ability, and is a regular with the England youth sides.
Harking from generations of Crystal Palace fans, Whitworth was a regular at Selhurst Park as a child despite an early youth career at AFC Wimbledon Under-13s. The oldest of three goalkeeping brothers, he was spotted by the Eagles and invited to sign.
His form in 2020/21 was recognised by Shaun Derry, and he was regularly among the substitutes for the Under-23s side, including fixtures at Selhurst Park. He also received international call-ups for the England Under-17s and Under-18s sides.
He made 20 appearances for the U18s in 20/21, keeping six clean sheets as the side narrowly missed out on the U18 Premier League South title on goal difference..
Whitworth became the first-choice goalkeeper for the Under-23s at the age of 18 in the 2021/22 season, making 23 appearances in the Premier League 2 Division 1 and keeping three clean sheets. He saved three penalties in three successive games at the start of 21/22 against Leeds United, Arsenal and Everton.
His performances in the previous campaign saw him in and amongst the first-team, earning a place on the bench against Aston Villa, Manchester City, West Ham United and Newcastle United in the first half of the 2022/23 campaign.
In September 2022, Whitworth earned a call-up to the England Under-19s side to compete in their qualification campaign for the UEFA U19 European Championship.
The young goalkeeper signed a contract extension in January 2023, committing his long-term future to the club.
He finished the 22/23 campaign with two appearances for the first-team and 10 appearances for the U21s in all competitions.
