Exeter City can solve key issue with another Crystal Palace raid | OneFootball

Exeter City's struggles in front of goal continue, so could Jemiah Umolu of Crystal Palace be the answer?

Different season, same problems.

There are murmurs of discontent growing at Exeter City with the Grecians going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment.

The main issue is, again, scoring goals and a style of play that is struggling to produce clear-cut opportunities.

It must be said that City are approaching the end of a horror run of fixtures that could not be any more difficult at League One level, with four of the top five played in the last few weeks.

That hard run of games has yielded poor results and even the 2-2 draw with league leaders Wycombe Wanderers was a disappointment as a two-goal lead was allowed to slip on home soil.

Gary Caldwell's side have dropped to 11th in the third tier and haven't tasted victory in league action for over a month with that 1-0 home win over Charlton Athletic the only win in eight outings.

In those eight matches the Grecians have scored just four goals (firing a blank in five) and they now have 16 in 18 games this season.

The fixture lists is easing, and the transfer window is close to opening, so there is both the potential for improved results and the arrival of attacking reinforcements in 2025.

Exeter need a genuine goalscorer

We know Caldwell likes to shop at stores he knows and perhaps a loan raid for Crystal Palace's young striker Jemiah Umolu could be the answer.

The 19-year-old forward is the top scorer in PL2 this season with eight goals, a tally that would put him five clear of City's top league scorer this season, Kamari Doyle.

Of course, it would be a big jump, but City seem to be at a stage where anything's worth a try.

While City's top scorer is a loanee from Brighton, Brentford defender Tristan Crama and Eagles keeper Joe Whitworth have been the two most effective borrowed players for City this campaign.

Maybe Whitworth's exploits this season would help negotiations with Palace as the England youth keeper seems to be having a good time and has been putting in great performances in the south west.

Umolu has a great record at youth level

Umolu joined Palace from West Ham over the summer and has been on fire since heading south of the river, bagging eight goals in eight games for the Eagles' youth teams in the PL2.

Interestingly, he's also featured three times for their B team in the Vertu Trophy, also scoring a goal against Gillingham, which could indicate that he's ready for more game time against hardened pros at EFL level.

Whether he can come straight in and have an impact is impossible to tell, but one thing's for certain and that's that he is a natural goalscorer with an impressive record at youth level.

As well as his strong showing this season, Umolu scored 11 and set up four for the Hammers in the Under 18 Premier League last season.

Josh Magennis is clearly City's No.1 striker, and it will be hard to displace him, but Umolu knows where the goal is, and he could, at least, offer a real threat off the bench and get into those positions to put away cut backs that have been sorely lacking this year.

You'd imagine that Umolu might be sought after in January, but with Whitworth doing well that could give Caldwell the edge in the race if City decide to try for the goal-scoring youngster, with Palace knowing he'll be well looked after in EX4.