I was just reading about this. They may have bought Gayle but improving their playing staff significantly for the step up to the Premier League doesn't seem to be high on their list of priorities.
Of course not, they don't need to, just read their fans' comments from during the promotion push, they already had side who could be comfortably mid-table in the PL without making any additions, with Gayle they're sure to be going for the Champions League places now.
I personally think Palace are a long way off being a premier league squad and building for the future and preparing for another promotion with a stronger re shaped squad barring a minor miracle probably isn't a bad idea for them. They've got a lot of resources at their disposal to secure top quality youth for years to come, find the next 5 Wilfred Zaha's and probably be financially the most powerful side in the championship taking FFP into account. They could put it all on red but we all know how premier league clubs are held to ransom over transfer fees and wages, and they're that far behind even us they'd have to blow the lot to have a truly strong squad on paper that could be backed to stay up. Only Jedinak and Speroni are PL quality from their squad IMO, including superstar Gayle.
Palace have one of the best youth policies in the country. They are also owned by a consortium of a few fans.