Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace: Dan Cook worries over long term midfield solution

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Dan Cook has been speaking on the HLTCO podcast about his concerns about Crystal Palace’s midfield.

The Eagles have made a bright start to life under Patrick Vieira and this has a lot to do with how loan star Conor Gallagher has performed this season, having netted four goals and assisted his teammates three times while starting all but one Premier League game.

For this season, it appears all sorted when people are fit, as Vieira looks settled on a midfield duo of Gallagher and James McArthur, but with the former set to leave next summer and the latter heading towards 35 years of age, the Palace hierarchy should be thinking about what happens at Selhurst Park long-term.

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This is what Cook is worried about, and hopes Palace have suitable replacements.

He said: “So I just am wary of the fact that whoever we look to bring in or use to fill the hole that is vacated by one of, or both of, James McArthur and Conor Gallagher, is going to be potentially a square peg in a round hole.

“Whether or not that has a severe knock-on effect for the way that Patrick Vieira has currently set the team up, whether we’re going to have to look to operate in a slightly different way from a week-to-week basis tactically, it’s all sort of up in the air.”

TIF Thoughts on Palace’s midfield situation…

Some people may have been worried about what Palace could do this season as they recruited a lot of younger players over the summer and brought in a boss without Premier League management experience, but they have certainly put any doubters away, having beaten Manchester City, drawn against West Ham United and remained unbeaten at home.

Now though, this could be the biggest test Vieira has faced since returning to the Premier League, as McArthur’s injury forced him into a tactical switch against Burnley as they went on to concede three goals for only the second time all season and also failed to win in the process.

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Selhurst Park, Roy Hodgson, Crystal Palace

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Therefore, it’s no surprise to see Cook worried about the long-term future of Palace’s midfield if losing a 34-year old can alter the whole team’s dynamic, and doesn’t bode well for what happens in the future without McArthur and when loanee Gallagher departs.

In other news: ‘I struggle to see it’ – Dan Cook can’t see CPFC ‘successor for James McArthur’ starting v Villa

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