After bringing in Jeffrey Schlupp earlier in the transfer window, Crystal Palace completed their second January signing with the purchase of Sunderland defender Patrick van Aanholt for an undisclosed fee, which is believed to be anywhere between a potential £12 million and £14 million.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Palace manager Sam Allardyce revealed his happiness at linking up with Van Aanholt for a second time:
“I am delighted that Patrick has joined us. We had great success together at Sunderland where he was instrumental in keeping them in the Premier League last season. He will add pace and energy to our team, has strong defensive qualities and has the added ability to score and create goals.”
The defender was similarly enthused over reuniting with Big Sam :
“I think I needed a change from Sunderland as I’d been there for two-and-a-half years and obviously last year I worked with the manager there, so as soon as he arrived at Palace I thought there might be an opportunity to go there too. It’s a great club with great fans and when I spoke to the manager a couple of times he was really interested in signing me which made my choice easier of course. When I came in I was on the bench for his first game and he worked with me on the defensive side of the game because he knew what I could do already in attack, and it worked quite well so I think he got the best out of me last season.”
The History
Van Aanholt began his youth career at FC Den Bosch and PSV Eindhoven before moving to Chelsea at the age of 19.
Handed his professional debut whilst on loan at Coventry City in August 2009, he would make 27 league appearances for the Sky Blues, which yielded one assist, before briefly returning to Stamford Bridge in January 2010.
Van Aanholt then spent a one-month loan spell with Newcastle United, where he made seven league appearances in the Championship.
The Dutchman made his Chelsea debut as a substitute in a 5-0 victory over Portsmouth in March 2010, but he’d only go one to make one more league appearance for the Blues.
During the 2010/11 season, he spent a loan spell at then Championship outfit Leicester City, scoring one goal and registering one assist over 12 appearances.
Van Aanholt started the 2011/12 campaign on loan at Premier League side Wigan Athletic, but would only make three appearances, before being sent out on loan to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem for the second half of the season.
After impressing in that loan spell, Van Aanholt would spend the next two seasons on loan at the Dutch club, registering five goals and seven assists in 67 league appearances in total.
But in July 2014, Chelsea decided to cash in on the Dutchman, with Sunderland believed to have paid between £1.5 and £2 million to bring him to the Stadium of Light.
Over the last two-and-a-half seasons in the north east, Van Aanholt has established himself as one of the Black Cats’ best players and has recorded an impressive nine goals and 10 assists in 82 league appearances.
Van Aanholt represented Holland at all levels from U16 to U21, before making his senior debut as a substitute against Colombia in November 2013.
He has made six appearances in total for his country, but has never really established himself on the international scene.
The Prospects
As evidenced by his displays at Sunderland, Van Aanholt’s attacking abilities means he is more than capable of thriving as a Fantasy asset in spite of a lack of defensive returns.
Over the first 21 Gameweeks, he’s joint-top with Marcos Alonso for total attempts (24), though a tally of 10 efforts on target is three more than any defender. In terms of creativity, only Nathaniel Clyne (with 31) has produced more scoring opportunities for team-mates than the Dutchman’s 30.
After using a three-man defence in Palace’s last league match against Everton, Big Sam reverted to a four-man backline against Man City in the FA Cup last Saturday.
Allardyce doesn’t appear to have made up his mind on which system best suits his current squad, then, leaving uncertainty as to whether Van Aanholt will line up as a left-back, left wing-back or even as a winger during the second half of the season.
As already mentioned, Palace also signed another left-sided player in this transfer window in Schlupp, so it could be that the former Leicester man is used in the more advanced position, with the pair taking turns to raid and cover.
Schlupp’s potential as a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) prospect is boosted by his classification as a defender, with the Ghanaian coming in at 4.8 to Van Aanholt’s 5.0. He did pick up a hamstring injury against City last time out, but he may be fit to return against Sunderland on Saturday.
There’s no doubt that Van Aanholt has proven his potential over the last two seasons and with Palace in the midst of a very favourable run (bou, SUN, sto, MID) of fixtures over the next few weeks, he could soon find his way onto our radars.
The other viable option in the Eagles defence is Scott Dann, and his goal threat from set-pieces could bring the 5.2-priced centre-back into consideration.
Although the Eagles have failed to keep a clean sheet in the five matches since Big Sam has taken over, the two upcoming home fixtures look the ideal opportunities to turn that around.
But with other options such as West Brom’s Chris Brunt and Everton’s Seamus Coleman in strong form, and crucially guaranteed a fixture in Gameweek 28 (Palace’s clash against Tottenham Hotspur could still provide a blank), investment in either Van Aanholt and Schlupp appears unlikely.
The Dutchman is still owned by 4.1% of FPL managers, though, and they will more than likely be happy to hold over the next few matches.
His attacking threat is certainly not in doubt, in whatever position he adopts, but with Palace’s fixtures mixed from Gameweek 29 onwards, it may only be a potential double Gameweek – should Spurs progress in the FA Cup – that provides us with the incentive to find a spot for Van Aanholt.
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