Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner could be about to name some unseen academy gems in his squad to face Bournemouth this weekend.
Crystal Palace return to Premier League action on Saturday, with Bournemouth visiting Selhurst Park for what should be an enticing game between two very good teams.
Despite Palace’s 2-1 defeat away at Everton before the break, Oliver Glasner finds his side in 6th place of the Premier League table, compared to the Cherries in 4th.
And it’s been a busy international break for both teams who’ve seen key players jet off across the world.
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored his first goal for France in what is his first call-up to the side, whilst Marc Guehi has starred for England and Yeremy Pino for Spain.
Meanwhile back in South London, Glasner has been casting his eye over some of the club’s younger talents.
Photo by Adam Fradgley/West Bromwich Albion FC via Getty ImagesCrystal Palace youth goalkeepers train with first-team
In the absence of England goalkeeper Dean Henderson, three of Palace’s academy goalkeepers have been invited to train with the first-team, including summer signing Harry Lee.
The 20-year-old joined from Exeter City this summer and has been featuring in the Premier League 2 this season, with one clean sheet in four games for the Eagles reserves.
Jack Mason, the 17-year-old U18 goalkeeper is also training with the first-team, having been at Palace since the age of 13, and the 15-year-old Luca Benetton is also training with the first-team too, making huge steps forward for the young trio.
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As the new year approaches, there’ll be plenty of Crystal Palace gems looking to make their mark at Palace and get their names into contention for Glasner’s first-team.
The young trio mentioned before may well be, Lee especially at 20 years old. There’s also the likes of Hindolo Mustapha who’s struggling on loan at Nurnberg, but who could return to Palace in January and maybe even find himself a spot in the first-team instead of going out on loan again.
Meanwhile, Romain Esse is earning praise for his attitude behind the scenes having recently been dropped by Glasner, and young striker Zach Marsh continues to bang in the goals with four in Premier League 2 this season.
It’s certainly an exciting time for Palace who have a lot of prospects knocking on the door of the first-team.