Matheus Franca arrived at Crystal Palace from Flamengo in August 2023 to much excitement.
A sum of £26m was spent on the Brazilian prospect when he was just 19 – a huge show of faith from Steve Parish and Dougie Freedman.
Unfortunately, the South American arrived in SE25 with a back injury and never truly enjoyed a period without fitness problems, as you can see below.
Now – however – Matheus Franca has provided Crystal Palace fans with a positive update on his condition.
Matheus Franca says he is “feeling good” after six appearances for Vasco da Gama
The 21-year-old has been speaking to BolaVip after slowly being eased back into action by Vasco da Gama, playing 79 minutes of football so far across six appearances.
Franca seems to have responded well, saying: “It’s very important to keep working hard and to rest during this international break. I’m feeling good physically. I’ve been coming on more often in matches, and I just want to keep improving.”
It is very much a case of the Brazil U20 international taking ‘baby steps’ as he attempts to rebuild his fitness, an approach those back at Crystal Palace surely won’t mind.
It is imperative that Franca – who is being used across the frontline in Brazil – gets his career back on track at Vasco da Gama.
Parish is already yet to see much return from the £30m signing of Eddie Nketiah – despite some important contributions from the England international – so Crystal Palace can seldom afford to see another expensive signing struggle.
Crystal Palace will have a decision to make if Vasco da Gama loan fails
Franca – who Roy Hodgson once criticised – is contracted to Crystal Palace until July 2028, meaning he will only have 24 months remaining on his contract at the end of this season.
Should the switch to Vasco da Gama fail to work out, the Eagles cannot afford to send him on another unsuccessful loan or have the Brazilian struggle with his fitness again in SE25 for another season, as he would then only have 12 months remaining on his deal.
Nobody is going to pay anything close to £26m for an injury-prone youngster, let alone one with just 12 months left on his deal, so something needs to give this coming summer if Crystal Palace are to avoid making a significant loss on the forward from Rio de Janeiro.
