Last week saw new Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce make his first signing for the club, acquiring Leicester City’s Jeffrey Schlupp for a reported fee of £12.5 million.
The versatile 24-year-old, who can operate as both a full-back and on the wing, put pen to paper on a four-and-a-half-year contract with the Eagles and made him debut as a substitute in Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to West Ham United.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Schlupp reckons his versatility could be key for Big Sam’s side:
“I enjoy playing anywhere down the left-hand side, left midfielder or left back. I will play anywhere in the team that the manager wants me to play though as long as I am helping the side… I was at Leicester for many years and I think the time was right to move on and take my career onto a different path and I saw this opportunity come along to play for Crystal Palace and it was a no-brainer.”
The History
Schlupp was born to Ghanaian parents in Hamburg, Germany, before spending most of his childhood in England.
He linked up with Leicester’s academy at the age of 13, and progressed all the way to the first-team squad in the 2010/11 season, before making his professional debut during a loan spell with Brentford.
Schlupp made 10 appearances for the then League One side, scoring six goals and registering one assist, playing primarily as a forward.
He then returned to Leicester ahead of the 2011/12 campaign and bagged a hat-trick on his senior debut for the Foxes in a 4-1 win over Rotherham United in the League Cup.
Schlupp made 26 appearances in all competitions for Leicester during 2011/12, scoring six goals and adding two assists, again playing in a number of different attacking positions.
It was during the 2012/13 campaign that Schlupp began to play at left-back, though, and was mainly utilised as a defender the following season.
In Leicester’s first term back in the Premier League in 2014/15, Schlupp played both in defence and midfield, though featured more as a winger, registering three goals and two assists in 32 matches.
He made 24 appearances during the Foxes’ title-winning campaign last season, scoring once and totalling three assists, but found the first-team action harder to come by this term, managing only five Premier League appearances.
Schlupp made his international debut for Ghana in November 2011 against Gabon, and has played 12 times for his country, scoring one goal.
The Prospects
Upon the arrival of Schlupp to Selhurst Park, Allardyce immediately intimated the 24-year-old was likely to be used in defence by the Eagles:
“I am delighted we have been able to secure Jeffrey’s services, he is a player I have admired for some time and is a talented and athletic player. He will bring strength and experience to the defence and will be a major asset for the club.”
Palace have been short of options in the full-back positions this season, primarily due to the serious injury suffered by Pape Souare during a car accident in September last year.
James Tomkins, who can play at right-back, has also missed a number of matches due to injury, leaving only Joel Ward, Martin Kelly and Zeki Fryers as the senior full-backs at the club.
But despite the big money signing of Schlupp, Palace have still been linked with a number of high-profile left-backs, including Juventus’ Patrice Evra, Sunderland’s Patrick van Aanholt and Swansea City’s Neil Taylor, while Big Sam is still trying to get a deal for Arsenal right-back Carl Jenkinson over the line.
So while Allardyce has been talking up Schlupp as a defender, there remains some uncertainty over his likely position.
There’s a possibility he may see some action as a winger or wing-back, then, offering us some “out of position” potential, with the Ghanaian classified as a defender in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), priced at just 4.8.
That could certainly be the case in the short-term, given that Palace are without Wilfried Zaha who is on duty at the Africa Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast.
Having spent his formative years in his career as a striker, it’s no surprise that Schlupp’s strengths lie mainly in his attacking play, with his pace and dribbling ability perfectly suited to what’s expected of the modern day full-back or wing-back.
The 24-year-old is a competent defender, though, who is reasonably strong in the tackle, and could certainly help improve a Palace rearguard that has the joint-third worst defensive record this season, having conceded 40 goals in 21 matches.
Given the significant outlay on Schlupp, there’s little doubt he’s been bought in to be a regular starter, and with Palace’s upcoming schedule (EVE, bou, SUN, sto, MID) now favourable, he could certainly be of interest as a Fantasy asset.
During the first few weeks of his reign at Selhurst Park, Big Sam has reiterated the need for Palace to keep clean sheets in order to work their way out of trouble, and should he be able to oversee an improvement in that area, Schlupp should offer defensive returns.
His four goals and six assists from 44 starts over the past two seasons highlight an ability to produce at the other end of the pitch and potentially put him on our radars.
Saturday’s home clash against Everton looks set to provide us with an early insight into how Allardyce may look to use the versatile Schlup.
Should he line up in a more advanced position, he could attract some investment ahead of those favourable fixtures.
Encouragingly, his delivery out wide could be a key weapon as the new Eagles boss attempts to arrest Christian Benteke’s run of six matches without a goal or assist.
Schlupp registered a 26.7% cross completion rate in 2015/16, which betters the likes of Andros Townsend for Palace this season – the summer signing from Newcastle has supplied more crosses than any team-mate (115), with 23.5% finding their target.
Ultimately, considering we have yet to see any real improvement in the Eagles’ defensive displays since Allardyce seized the reins, few will be willing to take an immediate gamble. It may not be until the transfer window closes, and Zaha returns from the AFCON before we gain a clear picture of where the new boy stands in the Palace plans.
