Most important thing of all”: Roy Hodgson now admits Palace did something vital in both August and November
Most important thing of all”: Roy Hodgson now admits Palace did something vital in both August and November
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has now praised the club for tying down star players Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise to new contracts.
The pair have committed their futures to the club, with Olise signing fresh terms in August following interest from Manchester City and Chelsea, whilst Eze confirmed his new contract in the last few weeks.
Even in the event that one of the pair eventually leave, their values will be protected and both resemble excellent bits of business from Dougie Freedman and Crystal Palace.
Roy Hodgson praises Crystal Palace for Eze and Olise deals
Speaking on the Five Year Plan Podcast, Hodgson claimed that tying both attacking players down to new deals is the most important bit of business the club have done.
“The trick, I think, is going to be now – and I’m speaking personally – is to build upon that by bringing in one or two more pieces which can make us a bit better,” he stated.
“But maybe the most important thing of all is what the club succeeded in doing this year: keeping Eze and Olise.”
The next step for Crystal Palace
Whilst Hodgson has praised the club for doing well to secure the futures of two of their brightest talents, the next step would be to add extra quality to the squad alongside the pair.
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There have been links with a number of strikers as Palace aim to strengthen their forward options. In recent days, there have been links to Timo Werner, Borussia Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko, and River Plate’s Pablo Solari.
If Palace want to keep Eze and Olise in the long term, they will face a battle given the previous interest in both, but tying both down to new deals is huge. The club will now need to match their ambitions by adding further quality to the squad if they wish to entice them into giving their prime years to Palace.
A striker will be key, as the pair will benefit from either having a more clinical finisher to score the chances they create, or a playmaking forward whom they can play off and increase their own output in front of goal.
Both players are now back from their respective injuries, and both will look to get fully up and running this season against Luton on Saturday. Whilst Palace have been good defensively for the most part, they will hope that the pair can help transform their attacking futures.
