News douzu00@gmail.com February 16, 2025 0 Comments

Crystal Palace loanee is now similar to a £115m talent after leaving

Crystal Palace are sitting 12th in the Premier League after 25 games played, winning seven games, drawing nine, and losing nine. The Eagles are on 30 points, putting them seven points off a top-half spot, and 13 points from the relegation zone.

Oliver Glasner’s side have struggled more on the attacking end this season, scoring just 29 goals in their 25 matches played and averaging 43.8% possession – the fourth lowest in the division – but taking 13.9 shots per match which is the tenth highest in the league.

But, it is the defensive stability that Glasner’s shape gives the Eagles, conceding 13 shots per game, and only shipping 32 goals, that has given them a good base to work from and has allowed them to go on a good run of form.

Crystal Palace’s current midfield options

One area the Eagles have struggled for consistency this campaign is in their two central midfield spots.

It’s not as though they lack options, with Cheick Doucoure, Adam Wharton, Jefferson Lerma, Will Hughes, Justin Devenny and Daichi Kamada all playing in the midfield pairing at one point or another this season.

Marc Guehi was even required to play in midfield for one week due to injuries in the squad, which has highlighted the inconsistency in that area due to both fitness concerns and the poor form of certain players.

Due to the all-action role the central midfielders play in Glasner’s system, they have to be able to control the tempo on the ball, go from box to box to provide support in all phases and break up play to protect the defensive line, especially when the wing-backs are flying high.

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner before the match

But the Eagles may well have already had the perfect man for that job on loan back in 2023, who only made nine appearances for the club, totalling 536 minutes.

Where Are They Now

Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.

Crystal Palace had a Doucoure upgrade

Albert Sambi Lokonga joined Crystal Palace on loan in January 2023 from Arsenal but only managed nine appearances for the club.

Since then, the midfielder has taken his game up a level, spending 2023/24 on loan with Luton Town, before making the move to Sevilla on an initial loan deal, with an option to buy.

It’s over the last 18 months or so that the Belgian has developed immensely, with his exploits at Kenilworth Road last term even seeing him be compared to Moises Caicedo, as per FBref.

So, how does he compare to the £115m Chelsea player and Doucoure?

Lokonga vs Doucoure & Caicedo
Stats (per 90 mins)	Lokonga	Doucoure	Caicedo
Goals + Assists	0.15	0.00	0.12
Progressive Carries	1.53	0.40	1.06
Progressive Passes	5.48	3.80	5.38
Passes Attempted	58.1	40.8	61.3
Pass Completion %	89.7%	85.3%	89.1%
Passes into Final Third	5.16	3.40	6.61
Tackles	1.45	3.20	3.01
Interceptions	0.73	1.90	1.34
Ball Recoveries	4.76	6.20	5.89
Aerial Duels Won	1.94	1.00	1.02
Stats taken from FBref

When comparing Lokonga’s underlying numbers this season to Doucoure and Caicedo, you can see the Belgian has demonstrated even better progressive numbers than the latter at Chelsea, both with carries and passing.

As mentioned earlier, Glasner’s midfield two are often all-action, having to win their duels to protect the defence, but also help progress play on the ball.

Lokonga, despite having some lower defensive action numbers than the other two midfielders, demonstrates a good level of balance between the two sides of the game.

Whilst it’s easy to say in hindsight, perhaps the midfielder joining on another loan with an option to buy could have been a good move for Palace, in order to add another midfielder of a similar profile to deal with injuries in that area.