Rob Holding will now be 'disappointed' at Crystal Palace

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·13 November 2023

Rob Holding will now be 'disappointed' at Crystal Palace

Highlights

Crystal Palace defender Rob Holding is struggling to break into the starting XI due to the impressive partnership of Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen, who are among the best defenders in the league this season.
Holding could be living to regret his decision to move to Selhurst Park after possibly joining the club for regular minutes.
Roy Hodgson might not be considering selecting Holding for one key reason.

Crystal Palace defender Rob Holding has failed to make a significant impact since arriving at Selhurst Park, and journalist Dean Jones has explained what he now has to do in order to break into the starting XI, in an interview with GIVEMESPORT.

The former Arsenal man was likely signed as cover for Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen, but Holding may have been hoping to break into the starting XI a little more than he has done so far. In terms of Premier League football, the 28-year-old is yet to play a minute this season and his only game time has been in other competitions.

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Holding is perhaps unfortunate that both Guehi and Andersen have performed superbly as a partnership, and it's going to be difficult for him to displace either player as it stands. It's a situation that Holding is used to, considering he struggles for minutes at the Gunners, but the switch to Selhurst Park would only have made sense if he was to become more of a key player.

Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen are among the best in the league

Although a step down from a Champions League club to a side likely to be battling in the bottom half of the Premier League would usually see game time increased, Guehi and Andersen are two of the best defenders outside of the European-chasing teams. No side has managed more clean sheets in England's top flight this season than the Eagles, with Arsenal and Newcastle United joining Palace on five.

Roy Hodgson needed to bring in further depth at the back, so the signing of Holding made sense from a Palace point of view. However, for Holding, it's not worked out for him personally and his game time hasn't increased since leaving Arsenal. Back in October, The Athletic ran a report on Guehi and Andersen, detailing the sheer number of starts they've had together as a partnership. At the time, the Palace duo had started more games as a pair than any other in the Premier League, with 64. Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings were second, starting 10 fewer games.

Hodgson has a pairing that works and he understandably doesn't want to unsettle that, so it's not looking good for Holding in terms of becoming a regular at the capital club.

Dean Jones update

Jones has suggested that Holding has a lot of proving to do if he wants to find his way into Hodgson's side due to coming into a defence that is one of the best in the division. The journalist adds that he will undoubtedly be disappointed with the impact he's made so far, but Hodgson likes stability and reliability with his defenders. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Jones said...

"He has to be disappointed with the impact that he's made so far because it's been so minimal. When you're leaving Arsenal to go across London and join a team that's not at the same level, of course, you want to show immediately that you can make an impact on the first team and you have expectations of yourself to be at that level, but he's still got a lot of proving to do it seems. Let's be honest, he's coming into a defence that is one of the best in the division. I think the combination of Andersen and Guehi is about as high as you can expect for a team with this level within the Premier League. So he's got strong competition, but it's up to him to prove that he's able to be a part of it because when it comes to defenders, Roy Hodgson likes stability. He likes reliability, and it takes a lot for him to break up a combination that's working."

Roy Hodgson's January transfer plans

Although the Eagles have performed well from a defensive standpoint, Hodgson will undoubtedly be looking to add more goals to his side. This could come from adding another winger to his squad, as Palace failed to bring in a replacement for Wilfried Zaha during the summer transfer window.

According to TEAMtalk, Palace are one of the sides who are monitoring the progress of Sunderland's Jack Clarke. At the age of 22, Clarke is performing exceptionally in the Championship and could be ready to make the step up to the Premier League.