How can Eagles boss Vieira utilize the three Nigerian young stars at his disposal?

One of the major coups of the current transfer window was Crystal Palace's capture of Nigeria-eligible winger Malcolm Ebiowei after the expiration of his contract at Derby County.

Ebiowei signed a five-year deal with Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira's team which will keep him at Selhurst Park until the end of the 2026-2027 season.

The Eagles are now stocked with incredibly talented Nigerian descent youngsters namely Micheal Olise, Eberechi Eze and Malcolm Ebiowei.

Patrick Vieira mostly utilizes a 4-3-3 formation despite implementing one of the most tactically flexible teams in the Premier League.

If Vieira continues with the 4-3-3, it means all three youngsters would be vying for a slot in the team alongside the likes of Wilfried Zaha, Jeffery Schlupp and others.

This means two among the three Nigerians would probably be used mostly as a rotational option with limited game-time.

Being that Eze is 24 years old and has tasted regular senior football, Olise has also tasted top-flight football and is at an age where he needs to cement a place in the team, Ebiowei turned down Man-United for regular game-time, limited time on the pitch could trigger a discontent in any of them.

So how can Vieira utilize the three of them to make sure they all get satisfactory game-time? Allnigeriasoccer.com takes a look at the situation with two ways outlined.

Tactical Change

While it may seem surprising to change tactics because of such young players, it is actually possible with Palace.

One of the main reasons why the 4-3-3 was effective last season was because of the presence of Connor Gallagher who is a pressing machine.

Now that the loanee has returned to Chelsea, a bug pressing void is left in Palace's midfield. To combat this whilst giving adequate game-time to his multi-talented youngsters, Vieira could switch to a 4-5-1.

This would open at least three attacking slots protected by two base midfielders. Even though Zaha is a guaranteed starter, two slots between three players would be enough to give adequate game-time all round.

Positional Change

One sure thing is that the three Nigerians are incredibly versatile. Vieira could opt to repurpose one of them for a different role.

The most likely being Olise then Eze in a slightly deeper role, an example being how Super Eagles manager Jose Peseiro repurposed Iwobi as a deep-lying playmaker.

Sofoluwe Mayowa

Photo Credit : cpfc.co.uk

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