Crystal Palace’s “unique” talent could become the new version of Eze & Zaha

Crystal Palace were 12 games without a win and miserable before they rocked up to the Amex and left with the spoils.

One of English football’s more peculiar rivalries, and while it was by no means a classic, Ismaila Sarr’s second-half strike against Brighton has lifted Palace back into the win column in the Premier League, stemming mounting concerns that a relegation scrap lay ahead.

It’s been a turbulent period for the Eagles, and their fine form and title-winning success of last year feels a world away right now, with Marc Guehi’s mid-season transfer to Manchester City and Oliver Glasner‘s own admission that this season will be his last at Selhurst Park, contributing to the recent off-kilter form.

But new forwards have been signed in Brennan Johnson and Evann Guessand and Jorgen Strand Larsen, creating an attacking structure for the future.

The hope is that one of these players (or more) can grow into a talismanic role, emulating the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Eberechi Eze before them.

How Palace have replaced Eze & Zaha

Eze, objectively, is Crystal Palace’s greatest modern attacking midfielder. He scored the winning goal in the 2025 FA Cup final, after all, the Londoners’ first major triumph in history.

Eze was a breathtaking talent for the Selhurst Park side, scorer of 40 goals and creator of 28 assists across five years, hailed as a “superstar” by analyst Ben Mattinson before his £67m transfer to Arsenal last summer.

And yet, many Palace fans would still speak of Zaha as the definitive superstar of recent years, almost a lifelong servant whose rise to prominence in the Premier League coincided with that of the outfit’s. In this, he is synonymous with Palace’s success, and Eze would not have lifted the FA Cup without him.

Zaha, of course, left the club in 2023 at the end of his contract. A mercurial and front-footed forward, he scored 90 goals and provided 54 assists across 458 outings in red and blue, with Joel Ward speaking after the England international’s departure and describing his influence as “unmatched“.

Whether one of the new boys will grow into stars of a similar stature remains to be seen, but it’s going to be difficult to achieve, for sure.

Johnson scored 18 goals for Tottenham across the 2024/25 campaign, including the winner in the Europa League final. Perhaps there is a likeness to Eze found there. However, the Wales international has much more to do after an indifferent start to his new start.

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Crystal Palace have work to do after Oliver Glasner’s well-crafted project at Selhurst Park has come unstuck.

In Guessand, Glasner has landed a player Palace have scouted thoroughly, though he is only a loanee and didn’t quite his the ground running after joining Aston Villa last year.

However, all that is not to say that the Londoners haven’t found their superstar.

Glasner has found Palace’s new talisman

While Strand Larsen (and Jean-Philippe Mateta, while he’s still here) are the chief goalscorers, Crystal Palace are actually developing another player who can become a leading presence down the line.

That man is Yeremy Pino, a nifty Spain star who joined Palace from Villarreal in a deal rising to £26m last August. Talent scout Jacek Kulig marvelled at the “incredible” potential shown in his homeland, posting 17 goals and 20 assists across four full La Liga editions.

We’ve seen his quality this season, but Pino has not yet reached the touted potential that prompted Palace to move as Eze headed for the Emirates. But maybe that’s okay.

There is a tendency in football to mark new recruits as failures after a short time, pigeonholing them into a category that they escape from after settling and growing into a new role in a new club in a new country.

Eze joined Palace when he was 22, and he scored four goals and provided six assists across his debut campaign, good but not great.

If Pino were to look at any criticism he has received this season, he might find comments made about his physicality. The Premier League is an unforgiving league, and the new stylistic shift demands a certain toughness that the Spaniard is still working on.

But his talent is undeniable, and he’s still young. Should the Eagles trust their up-and-coming playmaker and allow him to develop, they will be sure to hit the jackpot.

Moreover, his creativity has often met a brick wall this season. Mateta has served as Palace’s number nine for most of the season, and while he has scored eight times in the Premier League, he has missed 16 big chances besides.

Pino, indeed, has created nine big chances, and he’s averaging three key passes every two matches. This is to say that he’s been instrumental in a build-up system that has been largely exellent, certainly during the earlier knockings of the term.

Hailed as a “unique talent” by journalist Antonio Mango, Pino could become Palace’s new leader, their source of inspiration. Indeed, the likes of Liverpool were interested in making a move in 2022 as Pino burst out to the surface with the Yellow Submarine.

Is he there yet? No, but we’ve seen flashes of brilliance, moments of quality and an ability to maintain creative levels throughout the campaign.

While Crystal Palace have a team of talented players, Pino might just be the pick of the bunch when considering how strong he could become down the line.

With a refashioned frontline ready to spearhead this new chapter, maybe Pino will now start to spread his wings and become a focal point that Eze and Zaha would be proud of.

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