Eddie Nketiah has scored his first goal for Crystal Palace (Photo: Getty)
Eddie Nketiah won’t be playing as a striker for Crystal Palace, Oliver Glasner has stated after the former Arsenal star opened his account for his new club.
The 25-year-old departed his boyhood club on deadline day, swapping north for south London in a deal worth upwards of £25million.
He looked sharp on his debut for Palace in the 2-2 draw with Leicester and scored his first Eagles goal on Tuesday night in a 2-1 Carabao Cup win at Queens Park Rangers.
But fans have been quick to spot that Nketiah is not playing in his usual centre-forward position, but rather as an attacking midfielder alongside Eberechi Eze and behind Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Palace manager Glasner assures this tactical tweak was planned from the beginning, saying in his post-QPR press conference: ‘You can trust that we did our homework before signing him.
‘When you watch Eddie play at Arsenal, he played as a nine he was very involved in the game. He’s not a pivot, like in basketball, who is waiting for the ball.
‘He’s so, so smart in finding the space. He can play as a nine, as this 10, and when we switched three days ago to a 4-4-2 against Leicester, he can play around the striker.
‘He has such a good feeling [for the game]. Sometimes, he needs to stay in the pocket and then make the run in behind.
‘When Ebs [Eze] put a chip over, he ran in behind. He was waiting for the cutback when Tyrick Mitchell gave him the pass for the second chance. These are different situations, but he has a feeling to make the right decisions.’
While Glasner has not ruled out returning Nketiah to the No.9 role, Mateta’s incredible form – 17 goals in his last 19 games – means he’s likely to play in a deeper role as long as his teammate is in the side.
Eberechi Eze assisted Nketiah’s goal before scoring the winner against QPR (Photo: Getty)
Eze brilliantly set up Nketiah for his maiden goal before going on to score the winner against QPR, and even played a part in convincing his fellow England star to swap the Emirates for Selhurst Park.
‘He’s a top player, I know that,’ Eze added.
‘If you put him in the right places he’s going to finish, and today he’s got the first one [for Palace]. I’m sure many will come after this.’
Nketiah’s goal was his first since last December and he’ll be hoping to end his near year long wait for a Premier League goal on Saturday evening when the Eagles host Manchester United.
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