Crystal Palace’s season under manager Roy Hodgson has been a fairly mixed bag of emotions and will certainly have come as a fairly bumpy rollercoaster ride for many of the players in this talented Eagles side.
Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend are the two players who have really stepped up to the plate and taken the responsibility of the team on their shoulders. With the right kind of attitude and mindset, on occasion, both of them have prospered in front of the goal this term.
While the latter has pitched in with 4 goals and 3 assists from his 29 matches for the Eagles, Zaha’s 8 goals and 5 assists from his 25 appearances prove that the Ivorian is their most important player. Another player who has come to the fore in recent months is midfielder Luka Milivojevic.
The Serbian midfielder has been the link between the defence and the attack and has often controlled games with his passing and shielding abilities in the middle of the park. The player who keeps the team moving, Luka’s 8 goals have come as a welcome contribution.
With all of this said, one thing that needs to be understood is the fact the all three aforementioned players are Crystal Palace’s top scorers in the league. While there seems to nothing wrong with that, upon closer inspection it becomes clear that these players are all midfielders.
The strikers of a team are the men tasked with getting the goals but unfortunately for Roy Hodgson, that hasn’t gone quite to plan at least with the current crop of strikers that are available at his disposal.
With Christian Benteke, Jordan Ayew and Conor Wickham all misfiring, they have been forced to play a loan card for Chelsea forward Michy Batshuayi, who seems to have hit the ground running.
Prior to the Belgian’s arrival though, all three of Palace’s strikers combined had only contributed to a single league goal which is quite clearly embarrassing and reason enough to be alarmed about the situation. This is why Palace should make a move for Efthymios Koulouris in the summer.
Koulouris is a 23-year-old PAOK player, who currently is on loan at Greek Super League club Atromitos Athen. His efforts for the club this season haven’t gone unnoticed as his stats alone are enough to prove his pedigree as a striker. He has scored a whopping 16 goals from his 22 league games this season.
With 5 more goals in the cup added to 3 league assists as well, he has become one of their most important players. He has shown the predatory instincts required to succeed in the Premier League and will certainly be able to hit the ground running.
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His presence in the box as well as finishing ability from outside will be a massive boost for Palace. This move is bound to be a hit given the Greek’s stats and Hodgson must prioritise this move for the summer window.