Crystal Palace suffered a disappointing defeat away at Luton Town on Saturday, but there was a positive as Michael Olise scored a spectacular goal.
The winger recently returned from a long-term injury, and having signed a new contract in recent months, has already established himself as one of the most important players at Crystal Palace.
With club legend Wilfried Zaha departing in the summer, and very little coming in to replace him, Olise will now have to step up to replace his influence in attack, and the £100k-a-week star is now beginning to do that.
BBC pundit Garth Crooks has now praised the attacker, and compared his influence to that of Zaha’s.
Garth Crooks compares Michael Olise to Wilfried Zaha
Crooks included Olise in his Premier League team of the week, and applauded his efforts despite Palace’s defeat on Saturday.
“I’m not entirely sure how Luton won this match against Crystal Palace. Losing Cheick Doucoure and Eberechi Eze so early in the game clearly had something to do with Palace’s defeat,” he claimed.
“However, they have a player in Michael Olise who is clearly going to be as important to Crystal Palace as Wilfried Zaha was during his time at the club but hopefully without the attitude.
“His 74th-minute equaliser was sensational and should have been enough to secure the Eagles a point.”
Crystal Palace’s struggle to replace Zaha
Given that Zaha was one of the best, if not the best player to ever play for Crystal Palace, losing him for free was always going to be a disastrous blow.
His departure has hit even harder, given that no direct replacement was brought in for him.
The club chose to spend a substantial fee on Matheus Franca, whose best position is still unclear, and manager Roy Hodgson appears unwilling to give him a chance.
Without signing a replacement goalscorer, the pressure on Olise, Eze and Odsonne Edouard has now increased, and Palace have struggled in front of goal this season.
Olise’s goal showed what he is capable of, and whilst the 21-year-old is an elite talent, he should not have been put in a situation where he is immediately expected to step up and replace someone as important as Zaha.
