Domestic-league season · Crystal Palace.
| Competition | Apps | G | A | Min | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Premier League | 31 | 0 | 0 | 1577 | 6.78 |
 UEFA Europa Conference League | 12 | 0 | 1 | 451 | 6.91 |
 League Cup | 3 | 0 | 0 | 179 | 6.87 |
 Community Shield | 1 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 7.5 |
 FA Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 6.3 |
Hughes's current-season form is down 58% on last season (Season 36→15), while his Rating eased 55→36. His peak season for form remains 2024/25 (Season 36).
| Season | Club | Apps | G | A | Match | RTG | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | Crystal Palace · 15th | 31 | 0 | 0 | 6.78 | 36 | 15 |
| 2024/25 | Crystal Palace · 12th | 33 | 0 | 3 | 6.78 | 55 | 36 |
| 2023/24 | Crystal Palace · 10th | 31 | 0 | 1 | 6.83 | 59 | 29 |
| 2022/23 | Crystal Palace · 11th | 27 | 1 | 1 | 6.64 | 61 | 19 |
| 2021/22 | Crystal Palace · 12th | 16 | 0 | 2 | 6.83 | 68 | 25 |
| 2020/21 | Watford · 2nd | 30 | 2 | 0 | 6.97 | 63 | 27 |
Domestic-league totals per season. RTG = Field Insider Rating (potential / ceiling); Season = age-blind form that year.
W. Hughes is a 31-year-old defensive midfielder at Crystal Palace, rated 36.3 overall by Field Insider's model, ranking 376th of 418 in the Premier League. A seasoned veteran, he has been a rotation option this season (46.1% of available minutes). His defensive output reads 2.85 tackles, blocks and interceptions per 90. Below: strengths, watch-points, market-value outlook and the latest transfer news on Hughes.
Judged on this season alone, Hughes graded 15 — a workmanlike campaign that ranks 51st of 55 of the 55 defensive midfielders in the Premier League, on 0 goals, 0 assists and 2.854 defensive actions per 90.
Year-on-year, that's a drop on last season (Season 36 → 15). Over the 6 seasons on record his form has drifted down, peaking in 2024/25.
On long-term talent our Rating reads 36, 50th of 55 of the 55 defensive midfielders in the Premier League. At 31 Hughes is into the veteran stage, where the age curve weighs on the projection, and a market index of 32.7 reflects that trajectory.
Past his 2024/25 peak — the recent trend is downward, so buyers are paying for what's left, not what was.
2.85 tackles, blocks & interceptions per 90 — moderate defensive volume, with 6 clean sheets across 31 appearances. Doing that for a lower-table side (15th of 20) is harder than the bare numbers suggest: a back line under more pressure has to defend more often and protects fewer leads, so the volume — and any clean sheets — carry real weight.
With a Rating of 36.3, Hughes carries the 50th-highest potential of the defensive midfielders in the Premier League of 55, and he is posting that for a lower-table side (Crystal Palace finished 15th of 20) — individual numbers are harder to earn on a struggling team, so his underlying level likely sits a touch above the ranking. Defensively he reads as moderate defensive volume (2.85 tackles, blocks & interceptions per 90). Veteran phase — a short-term, lower-fee proposition as both level and value decline (0.9× and falling).
Generated from Field Insider's rating model · AI-written analysis to follow.
The gold line is market value — an index (not €) blending rating, age and league. It climbs through the early 20s, peaks around ages 23–27 (~73), then tapers with age. At 31, Hughes sits on 32.7, past its peak and easing. The blue line is Hughes's projected Rating — 36.3 today — recomputed at each age, so it follows the same rise-and-fall as a career matures and declines. Solid = up to today; dashed = projected.
€16.1M total transfer fees · 2 moves
No transfer news found for this player.
