The monster, who is eighteen years old, appears to have a bright future in the Premier League.
Ever since the year began, Crystal Palace supporters have certainly been through a lot.
They have not only had to witness their team lose 4-1 to their bitter rivals Brighton & Hove Albion after suffering a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Arsenal, but they will also be without their best players for some time.
The Eagles’ already dismal goal total could appear even worse by May as Michael Olise’s hamstring strain will keep him out of action for more than two months and Eberechi Eze’s thigh injury will keep him out for at least three weeks.
Odsonne Edouard, a former Celtic star, is one of the players charged with raising that total. Despite having his best season since joining the team, he isn’t good enough to propel Palace up the standings.
However, the answer to Roy Hodgson’s goal-scoring problem could come from the club’s own academy, as there, they have an 18-year-old goal machine on their books.
Odsonne Édouard Palace career in numbers
On deadline day 2021, the Frenchman joined the Eagles for a reported £14 million from Scottish powerhouses Celtic. While there was some optimism that he could be able to return to his former form from north of the border, that optimism soon faded.
He made 28 Premier League appearances in his debut season, tallying six goals and three assists; however, in his second season, he only managed five goals and two assists in 35 games.
| Odsonne Édouard Palace career | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
| Appearances | 28 | 35 | 17 |
| Goals | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| Assists | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Goal Involvements per Match | 0.32 | 0.2 | 0.35 |
| All Stats via WhoScored | |||
Fortunately, Steve Parish and company can promote from within rather than having to take out their wallets to sign his replacement.
Zach Marsh could replace Odsonne Édouard
Since moving from Watford to join Palace’s youth team in March 2022, Zach Marsh has been a dominant player for the younger teams.
Nine months later, in November, he signed his first professional deal with the south Londoners, which was then extended.
It’s easy to understand why the Eagles were so keen to tie the talented youngster down to an extension when looking at his record with the club’s youth teams.
In all, the “absolute monster”, as Palace content creator HLTCO described him, has made 39 appearances across the club’s U18 and U21 sides, scored a remarkable 29 goals and provided 16 assists to boot, meaning he is averaging 1.15 goal involvements every game.
| Zach Marsh’s Youth Numbers | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 39 |
| Goals | 29 |
| Assists | 16 |
| Goal Involvements per Match | 1.15 |
| All Stats via Transfermarkt | |
The “outrageous” talent, as described by HLTCO, has already racked up six hatricks this season and even made his first appearance for the senior side in a pre-season friendly against Crawley.
Even though Marsh is still undeveloped, his ludicrously impressive goal total speaks for itself. If the team decides to start looking for a new number nine in the summer, they ought to think about giving the academy product a chance to shine first.
