Since arriving at Selhurst Park, Daichi Kamada has been far from impressive for Oliver Glasner.
Expectations for the Japanese international were high considering he had previously worked with the Eagles manager at Frankfurt.
Oliver Glasner will have been key in luring Kamada away from Lazio and to south London, although so far the move has been a bit of a disaster for Crystal Palace.
Daichi Kamada has been deployed as a defensive midfielder for the majority of his game-time this season – a role he has struggled to get to grips with press around Lazio slamming Kamada for a ‘terrible’ start to the season which sees the Eagles sitting 18th in the league.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 16 |  EvertonEverton | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 15 | -8 | 5 |
| 17 |  IpswichIpswich | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 14 | -8 | 4 |
| 18 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 10 | -5 | 3 |
| 19 |  SouthamptonSouthampton | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 15 | -11 | 1 |
| 20 |  WolvesWolves | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 21 | -12 | 1 |
Glasner has however leapt to his summer addition’s defence, claiming it is unfair to pick out the Japan international for critique. Now, he’s been on duty for Japan and showed that his 50-year-old Austrian manager has been completely mis-profiling him.
- READ MORE: Who is Daichi Kamada? Get to know the new Crystal Palace star reuniting with Oliver Glasner
Daichi Kamada becomes a history maker for Japan vs Saudi Arabia
Despite club struggles, Kamada was called up by Japan for this latest international break as his role for his country remains pivotal.
Kamada started for Japan on Thursday as they took on Saudi Arabia – with the Eagles No.18 making history.
Kamada started the game at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in Jeddah and got on the scoresheet.
By scoring for Japan on Saudi Arabian soil, Kamada has made history and become his first countryman to do so and the Eagles ace’s seventh in the colours of his country – with goals expected considering Glasner has been wowed by Kamada’s finishing.
Kamada’s display was otherwise very dependable in a 2-0 win as he completed 91 per cent of his passes.
Such a solid outing behind the striker should show Glasner that he has been utilising his summer transfer wrong.
Oliver Glasner has been misusing Kamada for Crystal Palace
Despite his strengths clearly laying in a number 10 and attacking role, Glasner has been shoehorning Kamada into the No.6 role – where he has put in some concerning displays.
However, can the free arrival from the summer be blamed when he is being misused by his manager?
Well against Norwich during the 4-0 win, Kamada scored and assisted – heavily contributing to the best performance of the season all while playing in the No.10 position.
Competition for places here is steep, with Eberechi Eze undroppable and then both Eddie Nketiah and Ismaila Sarr as options on the right.
However, we do not need to be forcing Kamada into the starting line-up during his struggles – instead, Glasner must be using him from the bench to build confidence and form, with this goal for Japan being huge for the latter.
