Crystal Palace are five games into the new Oliver Glasner era, and while it might not have quite brought with it the excitement that many were hoping for, it has brought an upturn in form.
The Austrian manager has seen his side pick up six points from a possible 15, and while that's not ideal, it is better than the three they picked up from Roy Hodgson's final five games at the club.
It certainly feels like the former Eintracht Frankfurt boss has the ability to take Palace to new heights, but one player who probably won't be around for the ride is Odsonne Edouard.
Odsonne Edouard's stats this season
The Eagles spent around £14m signing Edouard from Scottish Giants Celtic in the summer of 2021, and while it wasn't a massive fee, there was some excitement that he'd be able to forge a great career in English football thanks to his record of 87 goals and 38 assists in 179 games for the Hoops.
Season
2021/22
2022/2023
2023/24
Appearances
31
37
25
Goals
6
7
7
Assists
3
2
0
Goal Involvements per Match
0.29
0.24
0.28
Unfortunately, despite looking impressive here and there over the last two and a half years for the south Londoners, the Frenchman has never really looked like he was going to recreate his Celtic goalscoring form south of the border.
This year has been a particularly disappointing campaign for the 26-year-old. He's made just 25 appearances all season – 19 of which have been starts – in which he's scored seven goals and provided no assists.
This means he's averaging a goal involvement every 3.5 games, which is significantly worse than Jean-Philippe Mateta's average of a goal involvement every 2.1 games.
Moreover, it is apparent that Glasner views Mateta as his number one striker as he's started the last five games. In contrast, the former Celtic man has started just two of the previous five games – both as an attacking midfielder.
It certainly looks like the striker's time at Selhurst Park is ending, especially as an academy talent with a brilliant youth-level record is cutting his teeth out on loan this year and could stake a claim for a role in the first team next season.
Why fans should be excited about Ademola Ola-Adebomi
The youngster in question is 20-year-old centre-forward Ademola Ola-Adebomi, who joined Palace's academy set-up at just eight years old in 2012 and has since fought his way up through the various youth sides and even made it onto the bench for the first team's League Cup clash at Old Trafford in September.
At the youth level, the "exceptional" academy prospect, as described by U23 scout Antonio Mango, was in a league of his own. He scored 34 goals and provided six assists in 65 appearances across the U18 and U21 teams, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.6 games.
Team
Palace U18s
Palace U21s
Burton Albion
Appearances
33
32
11
Goals
18
16
1
Assists
4
2
2
Goal Involvements per Match
0.66
0.56
0.27
This scintillating form earned him the right to go out on loan and test himself in the senior game, and so, in January of this year, he signed a short-term deal with League One outfit Burton Albion. In 11 appearances, he has scored one goal and provided two assists, although only six of those have been starts.
It might not be quite the return he would have been hoping for, considering his performances at the youth level, but a goal involvement every 202 minutes in his first season of senior football is still impressive.
Moreover, he has made an impact on Burton's manager, Martin Paterson, who described the forward as "technically really good", "a real threat in the area" and one of Palace's "top talents."
Crystal Palace hit the jackpot on ace who's worth more than Wharton
The talented Palace star has seen his value rapidly rise over the last few years.
ByJack Salveson Holmes
Ultimately, while he's unlikely to replace Mateta in the starting lineup next season, there is no reason that Ola-Adebomi couldn't take Edouard's place as the backup striker in Glasner's squad, especially with another couple of months of experience with Burton under his belt.