Hindolo Mustapha is widely regarded as one of Crystal Palace’s best young academy prospects, if not the best.
Hindolo Mustapha, 19, was on fire for Crystal Palace in Premier League 2 last season, scoring 10 times and assisting three more in 22 total appearances for the U21s.
His form was impressive enough to lad him a loan move to the German second tier this season, playing under German legend Miroslav Klose at FC Nurnberg.
But Mustapha is yet to feature in a single matchday squad for the first-team. He’s being forced to play with the reserves but he was an unused substitute in their last outing too.
Recent reports claimed that Mustapha is struggling to adapt to life in Germany following what is his first loan spell away from Selhurst Park.
Miroslav Klose speaks out on Hindolo Mustapha struggles
Now, Nurnberg manager Klose has weighed in on the matter. He’s just about confirmed suggestions that Mustapha is failing to settle in at Nurnberg, as a club and as a city it seems. Klose has urged the player to do what he can to try and make the change of scenery more pleasant.
The Nurnberg boss told BILD: “He has something I like. That’s why I’ll support him, always up to a certain point. But we brought him in because he has to perform here. It’s not like in London, where he can walk through the city and go shopping. Maybe it’s a little different in Nuremberg. We need time to settle in, but it won’t work without him. He has to know where our limits are, where everything that starts with discipline comes in.”
Last January, the attacker signed his first pro deal with Palace before later signing a new contract with the club until the summer of 2028, then heading out on loan to Germany.
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Crystal Palace may have made a huge error with Hindolo Mustapha
Mustapha has some big names to look up to: the likes of Michael Olise and Ebere Eze in his position, who could score and create goals and who blossomed as youngsters with Crystal Palace.
Olise is now shining at Bayern Munich and part of the French team, and Palace have a hefty sell-on fee for Olise who could pocket them a nice fee in the near future. Meanwhile, Eze joined Arsenal for a club record £68million in the summer.
And both players plied their trade in the Championship. For Mustapha, at such a young age, maybe going out to Germany wasn’t the best move for him at this moment in his career, with Klose’s latest comments suggesting the player might be a bit homesick.
A Championship move somewhere in London would’ve been better, perhaps. Expect Palace to take action if Mustapha remains in the cold come January.
