This week Crystal Palace announced Jairo Riedewald as the club’s Player of the Month for January. The player was given a run in the team after Patrick van Aanholt suffered an injury against AFC Bournemouth back in December. Since that game, he has played in all seven of the club’s matches, playing a full 90 minutes in four of them.
When the club posted that the player had won the award on Twitter, fans weren’t surprised. They think the award was well deserved and implore the club to let him keep the position, even when the first-choice is back fully fit.
So happy for him, especially after being a afterthought for so long. Quickly becoming fan favourite.
— Victor (@victorinvtown) January 28, 2020
Well deserved; playing out position and put a few decent shifts in
— Joe Roberts (@Joe_Roberts02) January 28, 2020
Well deserved and the shirt should be his until someone wins it off him #cpfc
— Tiddy (@Tidd99) January 28, 2020
Well deserved – his enthusiasm and passion is a joy to watch – and hopefully catching!!
— Di (@RidingsDiane) January 28, 2020
Yay! Well deserved to say the least!
— Jo (@jocella92) January 28, 2020
Who do you think should start if both fully fit?
Patrick van Aanholt
Jairo Riedewald
One fan applauds the player’s effort to win the award despite being picked out of necessity. The same fan questions why he was never given a chance before by Roy Hodgson considering how effective he has been since coming into the squad.
Only made the team as we had no other choice, and ends up winning POTM. Not sure what that says regarding Roy and giving players a chance, but I know it says a lot for Jairo’s attitude. Well deserved! https://t.co/9E1N2hLsDk
— Alex Barton (@barton_aj) January 28, 2020
What do we think?
It is vital that Hodgson keeps his faith in the 23-year-old full-back. The fans are confident that he can make a big difference to the club in the long run but must be trusted in the short term for that to happen.