Crystal Palace became one of the most entertaining teams to watch anywhere in the country towards the end of the Premier League season this year, scoring for fun and punishing the 'big six' home and away.
Under new boss Oliver Glasner, the South Londoners looked as if they would have reached the European places if the season hadn't come to an end, and while the Austrian deserves plenty of credit, his ideas were executed by a squad full of brilliant talents.
Players like Adam Wharton, Michael Olise, and Eberechi Eze have been spectacular under the former Eintracht Frankfurt boss, although their impressive performances have led to stories about their potential departure, especially in the latter's case.
That said, if the Eagles do lose the former Queens Park Rangers star this summer, they could quickly replace him with another serious talent, according to recent murmurings.
Crystal Palace transfer news
According to reports from Spain earlier this week, Crystal Palace are one of several clubs interested in signing Arsenal's highly regarded midfielder Emile Smith Rowe.
Alongside Palace, the story names Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa, Everton and Nottingham Forest as the teams keen to land the Englishman.
While this extra competition is far from ideal, the good news is that the story claims the Hale End graduate is available for as little as €25m, which converts to just £21m.
It might be a challenging transfer to get over the line, but if the South Londoners are set to lose Eze in the summer, they could do a lot worse than replacing him with the Gunners ace.
How Smith Rowe compares to Eze
Now, it's not really possible to compare Smith Rowe to Eze this season, nor is it really fair, as a couple of years' worth of injuries have seen him lose his place in the Arsenal team, meaning he's played just 474 minutes of first-team football this season – in which he's provided two assists – while the Palace man has played 2284 minutes.
However, as the Eagles' dynamic midfielder has enjoyed his best season at Selhurst Park this year, we can compare that to the Gunners ace's best season in red and white, which came back in 2021/22.
During that campaign, the "special talent," as Jamie Carragher described him, scored 11 goals and provided two assists in just 2176 first-team minutes. This means he managed to maintain an average of a goal involvement every 167 minutes, which is genuinely impressive for someone who was 21 years old at the time.
Appearances
37
31
Minutes
2176
2284
Goals
11
11
Assists
2
6
Minutes per Goal Involvement
167
134
In comparison, the Eagles' Greenwich-born star scored 11 goals and provided six assists in 2284 minutes this season, giving him a slightly better average of a goal involvement every 134 minutes – but he's four years older.
Moreover, they're pretty close again when comparing some of the Croydon-born gem's underlying numbers from that season to Eze's from this year.
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists
0.38
0.59
Non-Penalty Goals
0.47
0.44
Assists
0.09
0.18
Goals per Shot
0.25
0.12
Goals per Shot on Target
0.43
0.30
Progressive Carries
3.05
2.98
Progressive Passes
3.99
4.08
Progressive Passes Received
6.53
6.10
Passing Accuracy
82.9%
77.0%
For example, while he comes out second best for non-penalty expected goals and assists, actual assists, and progressive passes, he comes out ahead for actual non-penalty goals, goals per shot, goals per shot on target, progressive carries, progressive passes received and passing accuracy, all per 90.
Ultimately, if Glasner is set to lose Eze in the summer, signing Smith Rowe for £21m as a replacement wouldn't be the worst idea. In fact, it might be a rather good one.
He hasn't been able to play a full season of football for some time, but the last time he did, he was a "joy to watch", per Mikel Arteta, and if there is anyone who could bring that joy back out of him, it's the Austrian who has already transformed Selhurst Park this year.
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