Crystal Palace are yet to see much of a return from the £37.6m investment on Eddie Nketiah and Ismaila Sarr.
The latter cost £12.6m in a move from Marseille back in August – while the England international was a £25m arrival from Arsenal in the same month.
Unfortunately, neither Sarr or Nketiah have registered a single goal or assist after 11 Premier League games in the 2024/25 campaign – contributing to Crystal Palace sitting 18th with only eight goals scored.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 18 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 15 | -7 | 7 |
To make matters worse, a player Steve Parish and Dougie Freedman allegedly decided against signing because he was too expensive in Antonio Nusa is thriving.
Antonio Nusa shining after Crystal Palace decided against £17.6m deal
The reliable Fabrizio Romano claimed during the summer that Crystal Palace deemed Nusa an “expensive” option – as Freedman explored potential replacements for Michael Olise.
That has since been backed up by The Athletic and Matt Woosnam – with the decision now proving to be an odd one.
Nusa eventually moved to RB Leipzig for a sum of £17.6m – less than Nketiah cost us – and has outshone every attacker at Selhurst Park so far this season, even in his last two appearances alone.
The Norwegian scored two goals last Thursday as Norway recorded a 4-1 win over Slovenia in the UEFA Nations League, before grabbing a goal and assist in Sunday’s 5-0 victory against Kazakhstan.
At club level, Nusa can also boast three goals and three assists for RB Leipzig this season to go with his efforts on international duty.
In stark contrast, Nketiah only has a Carabao Cup goal to show for his efforts, whereas Sarr has failed to register a single goal involvement across any competition.
£17.6m move would have been far more sensible in hunt to replace Michael Olise
We cannot understand how Parish felt £17.6m for Nusa, who is a natural winger like Olise, was too expensive, but more money was happily spent on Nketiah, a natural striker we didn’t really need due to the presence of Jean-Philippe Mateta.
In the Londoner’s defence, he has been misused by Oliver Glasner, initially starting his Crystal Palace career on the right flank vacated by Olise, a position he only ever made ten appearances in for Arsenal, failing to score or assist.
Now, at least, Parish and Freedman seem to recognise their mistake, with Crystal Palace eyeing a new winger in January, as well as depth at wing-back.
One name who could arrive is Millwall No.25 Romain Esse – who Freedman has been scouting – an electric winger who likes to cut inside on his left foot from the right flank, which makes him sound like an ideal Olise replacement.
Hopefully, we can make the appropriate adjustments to our squad in January, or else a nervy relegation battle could happen in 2025.
