Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend has commended the level of squad depth at the club following a successful summer period of investment in new players, coupled with the emergence of Tyrick Mitchell into the first-team plans.
Roy Hodgson faced difficult circumstances during the winter period of the 2019/20 season with eleven first-team players injured at one point.
The 29-year-old was positive in his reflections on how the squad has changed since:
“I think we’ve got almost every player back fit,” said Townsend.
“We picked up a couple of injuries during the international break but you can see the players that are training, the players that didn’t start [against Brighton], we’ve got an incredibly deep squad this season and I’m sure when it comes to December, January and February when you’re playing three times a week the deep squad will help us.”
Crystal Palace have brought in several new additions to the squad, including some familiar faces such as Nathaniel Clyne (who started his career with the Eagles) and Michy Batshuayi, who joins on a second loan period from Chelsea following a successful six-month spell with the Eagles in 2019.
The Eagles also brought in Eberechi Eze in a £20 million deal from London neighbours QPR. Townsend believes the influx of creative talent will boost the ability of the squad to do well over a busy and demanding season of fixtures:
“Of course, [Michy] is a goalscorer,” said the winger.
“He was the last time he was here, he was everywhere he has been, and he’ll score goals for us if myself, Jeffrey [Schlupp], Ebs [Eze] and Wilf [Zaha] can create chances in the box he is going to score goals. The more games we play together the better we can combine.”
Read Crystal Palace Verdict
Townsend’s positive sentiments may well echo the feelings of many Palace fans.
In a fact that makes for less than attractive reading, Palace only managed to score 31 league goals in 38 Premier League games in the 2019/20 season – only relegated Norwich scored fewer.
When the Eagles’ poor goalscoring record is espoused with a need to defend against a rising injury count, a range of defensive and offensive additions to the squad offers a positive rise in depth across a plethora of positions.
Palace can enter the rest of the season in relative comfort with the knowledge that the depth crisis of the past has been largely rectified by both new signings and the rise of an academy talent.
