Crystal Palace have started their 2024/25 Premier League campaign poorly, losing two and drawing one of their opening three fixtures. Their only point came in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Their other two games ended in defeat, losing 2-1 to Brentford on the opening weekend of the season, before losing 2-0 to West Ham the following week at Selhurst Park.
Palace will face Leicester after the international break, hoping to get their first win of the season against the newly promoted side, who have also only managed to attain one point in their opening three fixtures.
With new signing Eddie Nketiah in tow, they will surely back themselves to pick up all three points.
Nketiah’s move to Palace
Fabrizio Romano confirmed the move of Eddie Nketiah to Crystal Palace for a fee of £25m (fixed fee) plus £5m in add-ons on transfer deadline day, ending a lengthy saga to get the deal over the line.
The 25-year-old is making a permanent move from Arsenal in a bid to get regular playing time, having been backup to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz last season.
Nketiah made 37 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions last season but scored just six goals, providing three assists, and totalled 1,393 minutes.
It will now be interesting to see how he fares competing alongside Glasner’s main focal point in attack…
Mateta vs Nketiah comparison
Jean-Phillippe Mateta, described as “extraordinary” by Rory Smith, made 39 appearances for Palace last season in all competitions, scoring 19 goals and providing five assists across 2,574 minutes played. It’s safe to say he was a little bit better than their new arrival.
Indeed, despite only being valued at around nearly £17m via Transfermarkt, Mateta is actually far more valuable to the club, with the Eagles not willing to let the Frenchman leave for any less than £42m this summer according to reports in Spain.
Considering they signed him for £9m, that’s not bad business indeed, particularly when you consider the price they paid to lure Nketiah away from the north of London only last week.
Nketiah is, of course, two years younger than Mateta, making him slightly more valuable as a longer-term asset but how do they compare on the pitch? We’ve crunched the numbers below.
Mateta vs Nketiah comparison | ||
|---|---|---|
Stats (per 90 mins) | Mateta | Nketiah |
Goals | 0.66 | 0.38 |
Assists | 0.17 | 0.19 |
xG | 0.43 | 0.37 |
xAG | 0.12 | 0.07 |
Progressive Carries | 1.14 | 1.94 |
Total Shots | 1.75 | 3.14 |
Shots on Target | 1.05 | 0.96 |
Goals/Shot | 0.34 | 0.12 |
Shot-Creating Actions | 2.56 | 2.24 |
Touches (Att Pen) | 4.02 | 6.79 |
Aerials Won | 1.97 | 1.79 |
Stats taken from FBref | ||
A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.
The metrics show Mateta is the superior of the two players based on last season’s numbers, finishing at an impressive 0.34 goals/shot ratio, compared to Nketiah’s 0.12, despite taking nearly half the number of shots as Nketiah.
The former Arsenal man is a higher volume shooter, taking 3.14 shots per 90, but only gets 0.96 shots on target, whilst Mateta takes 1.75 shots per 90, and manages more shots on target, averaging 1.05 shots on target.
With the the English striker only being 5 foot 9, and having a more slender build, it makes him slightly more agile on the ball, allowing him to control the ball in tighter spaces (shown by his 6.79 box touches), and helps his carrying ability, averaging 1.94 progressive carries per 90, compared to Mateta’s 1.14.
The Frenchman offers a different set of skills, being 6 foot 3, offering that more traditional striker build, where he can bully defenders, win aerial duels as seen from his 1.97 aerials won per 90, and do most of his damage in the box, scoring goals.
He’s certainly done plenty of that in the last year or so. This is a deal Palace well and truly hit the jackpot with.
Market Movers
Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the worldwide astronomical rises and falls of player transfer values.
