Crystal Palace: Matheus Franca 'concerns' now emerge at Selhurst Park

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·6 October 2023

Crystal Palace: Matheus Franca 'concerns' now emerge at Selhurst Park

Highlights

Crystal Palace have been unable to hand Matheus Franca his debut since joining in a £26million switch from Flamengo during the summer.
The Brazilian has started to step up his recovery from a back injury which has kept him on the sidelines.
Palace have released footage of Franca training with his teammates as he eyes a first appearance of the campaign.

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Crystal Palace have secured a 'rough diamond' by luring Matheus Franca to Selhurst Park, but presenter HLTCO has told GIVEMESPORT he is 'concerned' over the Brazilian for a key reason.

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Franca was among the fresh faces to head to south London as Eagles boss Roy Hodgson spent more than £30million on reinforcements during the summer transfer window.

Franca has handed Palace a timely boost as, according to the Evening Standard, it is hoped that he will be fit to make his debut shortly after the upcoming international break.

The report suggests behind-the-scenes Eagles staff believe the attacking midfielder - who scored nine goals in 54 appearances for Brazilian giants Flamengo - is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a back injury, which has led to him being able to take part in training sessions alongside his teammates for more than a week.

Although Palace spent big in order to sign Franca, parting with £26million as a summer deal was struck, he has been forced to watch on from the sidelines since the season got underway in August.

But the south Londoners have released footage of the teenager stepping up his recovery as his teammates prepare to face Nottingham Forest this weekend, although the Premier League fixture will come too soon for him.

Franca - who had also been targeted by the likes of Chelsea, Newcastle United and West Ham United before he rubber-stamped a switch to Palace - could come into contention to make his first appearance for Hodgson's charges later this month.

Sunday Mirror journalist Ryan Taylor recently told GIVEMESPORT that sporting director Dougie Freedman was the driving force behind the move to the capital.

Palace fanbase 'may expect too much too soon' from Franca - HLTCO

HLTCO fears sections of the Palace faithful may put too much pressure on Franca's shoulders as he looks to make an immediate impact when he returns from the treatment table.

The respected presenter feels the Eagles need to be patient with the 19-year-old South American as he looks to find his feet in his new surroundings, with the south Londoners likely to reap the benefits further down the line.

HLTCO told GIVEMESPORT:

"He is going to be something of a rough diamond. There's no doubt about that because he is a teenager adapting to a new league, tactical style, coach and language. There's so much for him to get up to speed with very quickly. "When you lose players like Wilfried Zaha over the summer, along with Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze to injury, it would be very easy for the fanbase to assume that there's this new messiah that's arrived. "I think he will, in the fullness of time, prove to be a fantastic player for Palace. But I am a little bit concerned that a chunk of the fanbase may expect too much from him too soon."

Franca in line to be perfect Zaha replacement at Palace

Palace suffered a major blow ahead of the current campaign getting underway when, according to The Guardian, Zaha turned down a new Selhurst Park contract and offers from various other clubs to join Turkish side Galatasaray.

Hodgson was hoping to keep the Ivory Coast international on board, to the extent where a deal worth a club-record £200,000-per-week was put on the table, but Champions League action being on offer in Istanbul proved to be too good to resist.

In fact, Zaha took a pay cut in order to link-up with Galatasaray as it has emerged that he is pocketing in the region of £72,000 every seven days at RAMS Park, while he has already made a lasting impression in his new surroundings by scoring in a 3-2 win over Manchester United earlier this week.

But statistics highlight that Franca could be the ideal replacement for Zaha, who brought the curtain down on his Palace career after scoring 90 goals and providing a further 76 assists in 458 outings.

Palace facing battle to hold onto £80k-a-week star

Palace are at risk of seeing Joachim Andersen move onto pastures new in the coming months as, according to Football Insider, he remains one of Newcastle United's top targets despite being unable to get a deal over the line during the summer.

The report suggests the Denmark international, who is on a contract worth £80,000-per-week at Selhurst Park, is being closely monitored by the Magpies ahead of a fresh bid potentially being submitted at the turn of the year.

Andersen is a key cog in Palace's backline, having failed to miss a single minute of the Premier League campaign so far, while he grabbed his second goal of the season in the victory over Manchester United last weekend.

The 27-year-old has plenty of top flight experience, thanks to making more than 100 appearances in the competition, and Palace are likely to fight to keep him out of Newcastle's clutches when the transfer window reopens for business.