Crystal Palace have picked up a few injuries over the last few weeks and if one attacker remains injured then Roy Hodgson needs to give Naouirou Ahamada a chance.
Jordan Ayew was substituted off early in the game last weekend against Aston Villa and at the moment it doesn’t sound like the injury was too bad.
With no comments this week yet from Crystal Palace telling us whether Ayew is available for selection, he is still a doubt for the match.
With the winger out, Roy Hodgson should be given Ahamada a chance. Why? Let’s take a look…
What’s the story?
Ever since the club signed Ahamada for £10.5million in January 2023, he has struggled for game time.
The 21 year-old has only managed 12 appearances and although his predominant position is as a central midfielder, he has been played as a right-winger on most occassions.
With depth low in attack at Palace and Ahamada having a very high-ceiling, it feels like he deserves to be given a chance to prove himself, especially when he also got a couple of goal contributions during pre-season.
He is yet to start in the Premier League for the club yet and it feels like this weekend could be the perfect opportunity for him to be selected.
Palace need to test Ahamada’s quality soon
Of course there is also academy prospect and highly-rated Jesurun Rak-Sakyi who could also replace Ayew, but it still feels like he needs some more growth to succeed in the Premier League.
Starting the academy product would feel like more pressure on the young player, who smashed it on loan in League One last season.
Realistically, Rak-Sakyi should have been allowed a loan move to an English Football League club to continue his growth.
For some reason, Roy Hodgson is barely giving Ahamada minutes and right now it feels like a waste of £10million.
The Frenchman also started 17 times in the Bundesliga for Stuttgart last season before moving to Crystal Palace so he definitely has some quality.
He has adapted to the right-winger role when needed and it would be nice to see him get the nod if Ayew misses out on the weekend.
