Oliver Glasner has transformed several players at Crystal Palace.
Will Hughes was struggling to stand out under Roy Hodgson before the Austrian arrived, and the Englishman is arguably now one of the most important players at Selhurst Park.
The man born in Salzburg has also turned Jean-Philippe Mateta into one of the best strikers in the Premier League.
However, Oliver Glasner has been unable to work his magic on Naouirou Ahamada – a player who seems to have vanished at Crystal Palace.
Naouirou Ahamada is a forgotten man in SE25
The Frenchman, a £10.6m arrival from VfB Stuttgart in January 2023, last appeared for Crystal Palace in a 3-1 win at Wolves back in May 2024, where he received a red card after picking up two bookings.
Ahamada was then loaned to Rennes for the 2024/25 campaign, where he played just 161 minutes across five appearances.
Since returning to SE25, the 23-year-old has been firmly out of the picture.
Ahamada featured in friendlies against Millwall and Mainz during the summer, but Glasner has since decided against selecting the man from Marseille in any of his matchday squads this season.
The 51-year-old has also failed to address his whereabouts in press conferences, entirely glossing over the midfielder as if he did not exist.
Ahamada is still only 23 years of age, so a loan move could have been beneficial, but the fact no such deal was arranged suggests Crystal Palace are ready to let him depart for free when his contract expires in July 2026.
VfB Stuttgart insiders were right about Naouirou Ahamada
A story from The Athletic shortly after Crystal Palace completed this £10.6m signing revealed that people at VfB Stuttgart felt Ahamada left prematurely – and would have benefitted from staying in Germany longer.
It is now apparent that this feeling was right, as the former France U18 international has seriously struggled to assert himself in south London – although in fairness, he has rarely been handed many chances.
Amazingly, Ahamada only has one start to his name in the entirety of his time at Crystal Palace.
Hopefully, a move can be arranged in January, so the Eagles make a bit of cash back before losing him on a free transfer, and so the midfielder can kickstart his career elsewhere.
