The 2024–25 Crystal Palace season has gotten off to a rough start. The Eagles are off to their worst start in seven years under Oliver Glasner’s leadership, and after five games, they have yet to win a league game. Some recent additions aren’t quite fitting in; Maxence Lacroix hasn’t quite lived up to Joachim Andersen’s strong performances, while Daichi Kamada is having trouble adjusting to the demands of playing English football.
Better news: Eddie Nketiah and Ismaila Sarr seem to be playing well. Sarr hasn’t been able to secure a starting position, while Nketiah, who cost £25 million to sign from Arsenal, is surprisingly playing on the right side.
Regarding Oliver Glasner’s use of Crystal Palace’s No. 9 at Selhurst Park, Tony Cascarino has provided commentary. He voiced his worries that Nketiah might not be happy in his current position in a Times piece. Does Palace think they’ve identified a worthy successor for Jordan Ayew, who recently moved to Leicester City? Cascarino asked. Nketiah must be played centrally, unlike Ayew, and Palace needs to figure out how to get the most out of him. Though I’ve always respected his agility and cunning, I doubt he’s content in his current role. Jean-Philippe Mateta is not the type of center forward that Nketiah needs to succeed with; he needs a center forward who can draw defenders. They obviously need a goal scorer given the big expenditure in Nketiah, but attackers cannot afford to go on prolonged droughts.
Nketiah scored in the Carabao Cup match against Queens Park Rangers, but he runs the risk of being substituted out in pivotal situations, like he did in the Manchester United game. A striker’s confidence may be severely impacted by this, particularly if they believe they must justify their transfer fee.
Cascarino underlined the necessity for a change in the approach to positioning Nketiah. Since both players are more efficient in opposing roles, misunderstanding resulted in Nketiah staying on the right side of the field during the recent match against Manchester United, even after Sarr had substituted in as a striker. The strike becomes noticeably unbalanced as a result of this misalignment, requiring modifications.
On Match of the Day, Danny Murphy also weighed in on the discussion, challenging Glasner’s strategic decisions on Nketiah’s front-line placement.
