Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace: Richard Amofa discusses the return of Nathaniel Clyne to the Eagles

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Image for Crystal Palace: Richard Amofa discusses the return of Nathaniel Clyne to the Eagles

Speaking recently on an episode of the Football Writers Podcast, Richard Amofa discussed Nathaniel Clyne’s return to Crystal Palace.

A product of the Palace academy, making his debut for the club as a 17-year-old back in 2008, Clyne went on to feature 137 times for the south London side, chipping in with one goal and providing seven assists along the way, before eventually moving to Southampton in a £2.88 million deal in 2012.

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The £7.2 million-rated 29-year-old then spent three seasons with the Saints, scoring five goals and providing eight assists over his 104 appearances for the club, before, in 2015, Liverpool purchased the England international for a £15.93 million fee.

The right-back would go on to spend five years on Merseyside, scoring two goals and providing five assists over 103 appearances for the Reds, however, with the defender being sidelined due to injury for almost the entirety of the 2019/20 campaign, Liverpool decided not to renew the 29-year-old’s contract, which expired this summer.

However, it would seem as if Clyne’s career has now gone full circle, as, after training with the club’s first team, Crystal Palace confirmed that they had re-signed the player on a short-term deal earlier this week.

The right-back’s return to the club was one topic of conversation on a recent episode of the Football Writers Podcast, in which Amofa discussed what the 29-year-old will bring to Roy Hodgson’s side.

He said: “He’s been really unlucky with his injuries, because when he was signed by Liverpool we thought, ‘this is a great step up for him’. He proved his quality at Southampton, so I think Palace will be a good situation for him.

“We know about his quality defensively, first and foremost, and we know how Palace need that, but also going forward he will provide another attacking dimension on that right flank.

“And, going forward, they do have exciting players, so to be backed up at full-back with the likes of Clyne, making those overlapping runs, will help take Palace’s game to another level. You just hope that he stays fit and maintains his consistency.”

Do you think Clyne will be a first-team regular this season?

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TIF Thoughts on Richard Amofa’s comments on Clyne re-joining Palace…

From Amofa’s comments, it is clear that the journalist is of the belief that the arrival of Clyne will benefit Palace this season, as long as the 29-year-old can keep himself injury-free.

And, aside from the team benefiting from his experience on the pitch, as Amofa points out, in our opinion, Clyne could also prove to be a good mentor for another of Palace’s new signings, the 19-year-old right-back, Nathan Ferguson.

As such, we would tend to agree with the journalist that the re-signing of Clyne could prove a very beneficial move for Palace indeed.

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Football Writer for Snack Media