During Crystal Palace’s friendly game against Bodo/Glimt, one man stood out and could’ve forced his way into Oliver Glasner’s team.
Several Crystal Palace players will be disappointed this season at how sparingly they’ve been used primarily by Roy Hodgson.
This includes the likes of Matheus Franca and Naouirou Ahamada who haven’t really gotten a fair shot compared to others who have struggled.
There was hope that this would change under Oliver Glasner after the latest friendly game, for one of these two at least, this looks like a real possibility.
Ahamada started the 1-0 win against Bodo/Glimt and was impressive which could bode well for his chances of ending the season getting lots of minutes.
Naouirou Ahamada has just shown Glasner he deserves to be starting
Playing alongside Eberechi Eze on the right side of the attack for Palace in the friendly which was played in Marbella.
Ahamada threatened early on, hitting the crossbar from the edge of the box in what would’ve been an unbelievable goal after leaving the goalkeeper static.
Later in the game, the Frenchman assisted Eze for that excellent finish.
Ahamada then continued to threaten, coming close to grabbing his goal on multiple occasions.
This performance showed that he may be suited to playing in that more advanced position as he’s dangerous in attack and might’ve just taken Jordan Ayew‘s place in the team.
The fact he started the game in the first-choice XI for the first half also says a lot and could point to the fact he’s impressed in training this week and earned his place.
Ahamada deserves to start for Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest
After this performance, coupled with the lack of opportunity he’s been afforded this season, the £10.5m 2023 signing must get a start against Nottingham Forest.
Ayew hasn’t been poor under Glasner, but ultimately he is unlikely to have a long-term career at Selhurst Park considering his age and profile.
On the other hand, if impressive, Ahamada could solve an impending problem for Palace with Michael Olise‘s sale expected this summer, a new right-sided attacker is needed and with Glasner preferring these attackers to effectively be inside forwards, Ahamada could be a great solution.
