Crystal Palace have made three signings so far this summer, splashing the cash to acquire Ismaila Sarr from Marseille, Chadi Riad from Real Betis, and Daichi Kamada (who joined on a free) from Lazio.
However, the biggest story at Palace this summer, has, of course, been the loss of Michael Olise, who left to join German giants, Bayern Munich, for a fee of around £50m.
Olise made 19 appearances for Palace in the Premier League last season, scoring ten goals, providing six assists, and totalling 1,278 minutes played, with the race still on to help find ways to suitably replace him at Selhurst Park.
Crystal Palace transfer news
According to reports from Florian Plettenberg, Crystal Palace are “exploring a deal” to sign Union Berlin left wingback, Robin Gosens. PSV Eindhoven were also interested. However, their interest has cooled, and Palace is the most “concrete option” at this stage.
Union Berlin still sees Gosens as one of their “key players”, and will only negotiate for a suitable offer, of at least €10m (£8.5m).
Gosens made 37 appearances for Union Berlin in all competitions last season, scoring seven goals, providing four assists, and contributing to six clean sheets in 2,748 minutes played.
Gosens vs Olise comparison
One of the main parts of replacing Olise at Palace, is finding a way to replace his goals and assists. Gosens, despite playing as a wingback/fullback more often in recent years, still provides a great level of creativity and output.
Described as “outstanding” by Statman Dave, Gosens has a tendency to arrive in the box, create chances, and find himself in dangerous areas to affect the game, no matter where he is playing on the pitch.
Gosens vs Olise vs Mitchell comparison
Stats (per 90 mins)
Gosens
Olise
Mitchell
Goals
0.23
0.70
0.05
Assists
0.10
0.42
0.08
Progressive Carries
0.89
4.79
0.90
Progressive Passes
3.73
5.49
2.64
Shots Total
1.25
3.94
0.36
Key Passes
1.12
2.54
0.67
Passes into Final Third
2.90
3.03
2.08
Touches (Att Pen)
2.28
5.63
1.52
Tackles
2.28
1.34
2.95
Blocks
1.88
1.48
1.77
Interceptions
1.28
0.77
0.74
Stats taken from FBref
The reason for including Tyrick Mitchell in the comparison table is to show the attacking output a signing such as Gosens could add as the left-wing back in Oliver Glasner’s system, as opposed to Mitchell, helping to add those creative numbers back into the side to replace Olise.
Despite playing at wing-back, Gosens produces 3.73 progressive passes per 90 (1.09 more than Mitchell), 1.12 key passes per 90 (0.45 more than Mitchell), and takes 1.25 shots per 90 (0.89 more than Mitchell).
These metrics show the extra attacking qualities Gosens could bring to the team, getting himself into dangerous positions higher up the pitch than Mitchell, shown by his 2.28 penalty area touches per 90, compared to Mitchell’s 1.52.
The versatility of Gosens is another important factor, as he can play deeper as a left wingback option, as well as higher up as a left-winger if needed, offering tactical versatility for Glasner. If he decided he needed extra defensive cover, he could start both Mitchell and Gosens in the same team.
But you also wouldn’t be losing out on defensive qualities when Gosens is playing instead of Mitchell, as the 30-year-old actually averages more blocks and interceptions than Mitchell, with 1.88 blocks per 90, and 1.28 interceptions per 90.
Eze-Olise-Crystal-Palace
Whilst Gosens doesn’t completely replace Olise’s creative and attacking metrics, adding him to the squad, alongside other forward signings such as Sarr and Kamada, could equate to replacing those numbers, just through a variety of players, rather than a direct replacement.
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