Dan Cook has been speaking on the HLTCO podcast about Crystal Palace youngster David Obou and how him signing a professional deal in the near future is great news.
It was a night of joy for Palace and their Under 21 side on Wednesday as they thrashed Paris Saint-Germain 7-3 at home which will have left Patrick Vieira and Palace fans excited about what the future could hold for their football club.
Even further down the club than just the Under 21s, Palace appear to have a huge talent on their hands in the form of Obou with the midfielder attracting interest from the likes of Bayern Munich and PSV Eindhoven, although he now looks set to sign a professional contract at Palace.
Cook believes that Obou’s form for the youth sides has made European clubs alert of his ability, but is happy he will likely be signing a new deal with the Eagles.
(7:20) “He actually took part in that 7-3 victory over PSG yesterday [Wednesday] so it’s not going to necessarily be plain sailing for someone like David Obou but I think regardless of the interest that is quite clearly there from some top European clubs, there is a real pathway and a belief from both the coaches of Crystal Palace at Academy level and those operating within the under 18 and under 21 squads there is an opportunity for them to force their way into Patrick Vieira’s thoughts.
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“It’s not a case of it being this impenetrable fortress for the first team players there is very much a collaborative field to everything at Crystal Palace and he is very much the adage of if you are good enough, you are old enough.
“He scored a fantastic goal against Manchester City in what was his first start for the under-18s which really did put the cat amongst the pigeons in terms of the way that we viewed him at academy level.
“You can look towards the keenness with which the coaches and the recruitment staff within the under-18s are looking to offer him his first professional contract as soon as he turns 17.”
TIF Thoughts on Palace’s exciting academy…
Since achieving their category One academy status and opening a new building with top-of-the-range facilities for their youngsters, Palace have managed to obtain and bring through a whole host of exciting young players through their academy system.
The likes of Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and Luke Plange heading out on loan over the summer to gain valuable first-team minutes and hopefully have them ready for Patrick Vieira next season and Obou will likely not be far behind them in earning a loan spell away in a year or two.
It’s not just the young players that are coming through the academy but the clear pathway into the first team which enables young players to dream of playing in the Premier League is huge for Palace with the likes of Michael Olise, Malcolm Ebiowei and Chris Richards all joining the club recently with the hope of breaking into the first team as soon as possible.