Crystal Palace have won four of their last five matches, with Oliver Glasner’s side beginning to really find form, climbing all the way to 12th in the Premier League after 24 games played.
The Eagles have improved their squad during the January window too, bringing Romain Esse from Millwall to the club for a fee of around £12m with the potential to rise to around £14.5m with add-ons, and signing Ben Chilwell on loan from Chelsea.
Whilst Palace have also lost Trevoh Chalobah, who made 14 appearances for the club, scoring three goals, this has allowed them to bring Chilwell ininstead, who could provide a new dynamic for Glasner’s side.
How Ben Chilwell could feature under Oliver Glasner
As we know, Glasner plays a 3-4-3 system, with his wing-backs often tasked to provide the attacking width in the final third, whilst the inside forwards are in closer proximity to the striker, especially Eberechi Eze playing in that left inside-forward role, who has more license to roam inside.
With that being said, it is important the left wing-back can provide the width, making overlapping runs to drag players away from Eze, keeping the attacking balance for the side and ensuring all five attacking lanes are filled (wide left, left half-space, centre, right half-space, wide right).
Chilwell played his best football in a very similar system under Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea, making 39 appearances for the German, scoring six goals and providing four assists, certainly a handy total.
His ability to get up and down on the left side, contributing to both the attacking and defensive sides of the game, would make him the perfect wing-back for Glasner’s system.
That said, he may well find it tough to break into the team immediately…
How Ben Chilwell compares to Tyrick Mitchell
Crystal Palace already have a left full-back who is worth even more than Chilwell’s £17m valuation as per Transfermarkt.
Indeed, valued at £21m by the same source, is the England international’s new rival in Tyrick Mitchell. The 25-year-old has already made 172 appearances for the Eagles, scoring three goals and providing 11 assists so they’ve clearly struck gold with him considering he came from the academy.
On that basis, it certainly won’t be easy for him to be usurped but it’ll certainly be an interesting scenario over who will be given the wingback minutes in Glasner’s system and how he will look to balance things between the two English stars.
When comparing Mitchell’s underlying metrics this season to Chilwell’s numbers from his only full season under Tuchel, you can see the extra attacking qualities the latter gives. He can provide more shot-volume, better output and create chances for his teammates too, with 1.73 key passes per 90.
Goals + Assists
0.11
0.43
xG
0.03
0.16
xAG
0.18
0.15
Progressive Carries
1.94
2.35
Progressive Passes
2.07
2.59
Shots Total
0.37
2.23
Key Passes
1.29
1.73
Tackles
2.67
1.85
Interceptions
0.29
0.74
Ball Recoveries
5.04
4.81
That said, it’s the Eagles academy graduate that perhaps flourishes more in defence. Alan Shearer has already praised Mitchell for his one vs one defending, labelling him a “solid” defender who is performing at a “high level”.
He clearly excels in his defensive qualities, but his attacking exploits have improved this season, now generating 0.18 xAG per 90, even more than Chilwell’s 0.15 per 90.
One way Glasner could look to include both players in his starting XI is to use Mitchell as a left centre-back in a back three, still getting his defensive qualities into the team, whilst also giving the attacking responsibilities to the more forward-thinking Chiwell, which could create a good partnership between the two down that left side.
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