Crystal Palace could end the window with a bang

Crystal Palace got off to a rough start, losing their opening game ofthePremier League season 2-1 to Brentford. After an Eberechi Eze goal was disallowed to give them a 1-0 lead, Brentford struck in the 29th minute, Bryan Mbeumo scoring the goal to put the Bees ahead.

Palace only created one big chance, compared to Brentford’s three, with those attacking woes having also been on show last time out, having failed to fire during the 2-0 defeat at home to West Ham United.

Those early season struggles have highlighted the Eagles’ need for creativity after the loss of Michael Olise this summer, who joined Bayern Munich.

Olise made 19 appearances for Palace in all competitions last season, scoring ten goals and providing six assists in his 1,278 minutes played, after coming back from multiple hamstring injuries that kept Olise out for a total of 195 days .

Now, however, the Eagles could be able to finally fill the Frenchman’s shoes

Crystal Palace transfer news

According to reports from The Standard earlier this week, Palace are among the Premier League clubs interested in Chelsea star, Raheem Sterling . However, his £300k-per-week wages could make it difficult.

It was made clear to Sterling last week that he is “out of the project” according to Fabrizio Romano, after Enzo Maresca said he had told Sterling “he will have no minutes here”.

Sterling made 43 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea last season , scoring ten goals, and providing eight assists in 2,771 minutes played.

Sterling vs Olise comparison

Pep Guardiola once described Sterling as “decisive” to what Manchester City have done in recent years, the Englishman – who was also dubbed a “leader” at Chelsea by Conor Gallagher – having scored 131 goals for the Cityzens and provided 73 assists in his 339 games for the club.

Now that Palace has the task on their hands to replace the output of Olise, Sterling’s Premier League experience and output could be exactly what they need, and could be the perfect platform for Sterling to re-discover his best form.

Now it’s worth pointing out straight away, Sterling only betters Olise in one of these metrics, and that is progressive carries per 90, whilst Olise is better in every other metric. However, we know Sterling hasn’t quite found his best levels at Chelsea and could improve these numbers vastly in the correct environment.

Despite not being at his best, Sterling still offers good goal and assist numbers, creates 3.86 shot-creating actions for himself or others per 90, and still looks to beat his man 1v1, averaging 2.05 successful take-ons per 90, attempting 6.00 take-ons per 90.

The 27-year-old does average fewer shots per 90, and shots on target per 90 than Olise, but in four of the last seven seasons, Sterling managed a goals/shot ratio of 0.20+, and if he could recapture this efficiency in front of goal, that would certainly help the Eagles find the net more often.

Sterling also brings the versatility to play off both flanks, making 22 appearances from the left last season , and 11 appearances from the right wing, as well as playing six games through the middle, as either an attacking midfielder or centre forward.

This direct nature in attack could help Palace to create more “big chances”, and having an experienced Premier League goalscorer on their books wouldn’t hurt, especially if he can find his top form.

There’d certainly be worse ways to replace Olise in Oliver Glasner ‘s attacking ranks…

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