Ones to Watch: Eberechi Eze

Crystal Palace: Eberechi Eze

After an impressive end to last season, Eze is set to become Crystal Palace's talisman as they hope to improve on last year's 11th-place finish.

Eze is a creative and skillful attacking midfielder or winger with an eye for goal. He has excellent ball-carrying ability with great physicality and explosiveness over the first few yards. A player who often has fans on their feet, whether it is after breezing past players or keeping the ball in tight areas. Eze can strike the ball cleanly with either foot and has often scored goals from outside the box. 

With the departure of Wilfred Zaha, one of the club's best servants in recent years, to Galatasaray. There will be an understandable fear of going into the season with a lack of goal scorers. Whilst Jodarn Ayew and Palace's other forwards are willing runners they are not the most clinical in front of goal. Other than Wolves, Palace created the lowest number of big chances (33) last season so all blame shouldn't be attributed to poor finishing. 

Eze has been showing his quality for a number of years, playing across the Englsih football leagues at Wycombe Wanderers and QPR where he won the supporters' Player of the Year for 2019-20. He joined Crystal Palace in 2020 and after starting as a rotational player, has become a nailed on starter under Roy Hodgson. Eze flurished after Hodgson replaced Patrick Viera and scored 6 goals in the last 9 games of the season. This earned him a first senior England call up.

In May 2021, Eze was called up to England but was unfortunately injured in training. Two years later, Gareth Southgate called him up again and made his senior debut against Malta. Interest has surrounded Eze this summer, including the likes of Manchster City interested, however it appears he will remain at Palace. At 25 years old, he will need another impressive season to earn a move to a club regularly competing for trophies.