Crystal Palace and Oliver Glasner have started poorly in the Premier League this season, losing twice and drawing once in their opening three fixtures of the campaign.
The Eagles are definitely feeling the consequences of losing one of their jewels in the crown this summer, with Michael Olise joining Bayern Munich for around £50m.
Olise made 19 appearances for Palace last season, scoring ten goals and providing six assists in his 1,278 minutes played.
Such an output is hard to replace but they will look to Eberechi Eze to try and do so…
How much Crystal Palace spent on Eze
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish recently described Eze as “outstanding” as both a person and a footballer, labelling the player “a gift” to any football club.
Since joining from QPR in 2020 for a fee of around £16m plus £4m add-ons, the attacking midfielder has made 128 appearances in his time at Selhurst Park, scoring 28 goals and providing 17 assists in those games.
Last term, the 26-year-old made 31 appearances in all competitions in which he scored 11 times and provided six assists. His impressive season earned him an England call-up for Euro 2024, where he actually made three substitute appearances for the Three Lions.
It was perhaps a surprise, therefore, not to see him attract much interest in the summer with his £68m release clause expiring.
That said, it will be on the table again next summer. Perhaps Parish and Co will have to fend off more interested parties next year as they aim to receive a bigger fee than Olise’s.
Eze vs Olise comparison
Both players were seen as Palace’s star men last season, with plenty predicting the duo would leave this summer. However, only Olise has left, and Eze, despite rumours of interest, has remained at Palace for the time being.
Parish even stated his disbelief in the lack of interest, or at least the lack of action on interest in the former Rs star, saying it left him “astounded”.
When you look at his numbers, it’s easy to see why he held that point of view.
Eze vs Olise comparison
Stats (per 90 mins)
Eze
It was
Goals
0.48
0.70
Assists
0.18
0.42
xG
0.40
0.39
Progressive Carries
2.98
4.79
Progressive Passes
4.08
5.49
Shots Total
3.60
3.94
Key Passes
2.37
2.54
Shot-Creating Actions
4.82
5.77
Successful Take-Ons
3.03
2.82
Carries into Pen Area
1.89
1.90
Stats taken from FBref
A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.
If you compare the metrics between the two players, Olise does come out stronger in most per 90 statistics. This is considering he played nearly half the number of minutes.
Eze only ranked higher than Olise for xG (by 0.01 per 90), and successful take-ons per 90, averaging 3.03 compared to Olise’s 2.82. Both players have a similar play style, in the sense that they like to beat their man 1v1, carry the ball and make things happen in the final third.
But with the French winger being younger, and ranking higher in most of these metrics, it isn’t a surprise to see him gain such a big move this summer, whilst interest in Eze was rumoured but not acted upon.
That said, it would not be a surprise to see him improve even further this summer, with the aforementioned exit clause in his contract likely to be activated in 12 months time.
Eze is on course for another excellent Premier League campaign, and it would be hard for many teams to ignore, especially as he helps towards the homegrown quota, which many clubs have to think about when building their squads.
Market Movers
Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the worldwide astronomical rises and falls of player transfer values.
