Crystal Palace may well be having their cake and eating it.
Over the summer, it was clear that Palace wanted a young, forward-thinking player to drive the team forward from the heart of midfield.
Palace had seemingly wrapped up a deal for that player, with Chelsea’s Connor Gallagher all but set to join Roy Hodgson’s side on a season-long deal.
However, that deal was soon scuppered. The Eagles needed added firepower and could not resist the temptation to re-sign Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi on loan. Due to Premier League registration rules, the Gallagher deal had to make way; clubs cannot loan more than one player from the same parent club.
However, it seems the Eagles had the midfielder they wanted lurking on their books all along.
Dutch dynamo Jairo Riedewald seems to be going from strength to strength – and is more than making his case to be a regular starter for Hodgson’s soaring Eagles.
Riedewald has evidently attracted Hodgson’s faith. He started back-to-back Premier League fixtures for the first time since January, putting in a fine midfield display for Roy Hodgson’s side.
Indeed, Palace’s victory over the Cottagers saw the former Ajax talent go one better; he capped a fine progressive midfield display with a goal in Saturday’s 2-1 victory for the Eagles over Fulham in the 8th minute.
In only his second start this season, Riedewald drifted forwards from midfield and curled a sumptuous drifting pass from enigmatic forward Wilfried Zaha into Fulham’s net. The goal was emblematic of a formidable box-to-box performance that carried his team onwards.
When the underlying statistics surrounding Palace’s previous clash with rivals Brighton is considered, the case for him to hold down a strong role only increases.
A pass success rate of 95.8 per cent was the highest of any player to feature in the draw, demonstrating Riedewald’s composure, vision, and presence in dictating Palace’s play. He carried those same attributes onwards even further against Fulham.
Riedewald’s new-found role as a more dynamic midfielder seems to be suiting him perfectly. In Hodgson’s own words, Riedewald possesses an expanding range of impressive attributes:
“We’ve always been impressed with Jairo’s ability on the ball – we’ve never lost faith in him, in that respect. He’s a very good character and he’s been a joy to work with these last three years.
“We’re just delighted we’ve managed to introduce some other elements into his game which means we can really take advantage of the quality he has on the ball. We’re reaping the benefit from it now.
“We’ve not really seen him as a goalscorer but his run today [Saturday] – and the way he finished it – means even that is something he has in his locker.
“Most importantly it’s his ability to get around the midfield and take up the right positions, make good decisions and really use his technical ability.
“From the outset he has always worked as a midfielder for us. We never considered him as a centre-back, because we didn’t think his qualities really suited that position.
“We always thought he’d be a good central midfield player. But to do that he also needs the other qualities that Luka [Luka Milivojevic] and Macca [James McArthur] have given us. It’s what he’s been doing for a period of time now.
Perhaps Riedewald could serve as a long-term replacement for a number of key midfielders. Regardless, Palace have found their dynamo.
