After Canvot: Pierre Sage Must Drop Zavier Gozo From Crystal Palace Squad

· GiveMeSport

He looks out of his depth in a Crystal Palace shirt

Crystal Palace have made a disappointing start to the Premier League season under new manager Pierre Sage, losing three of their opening four matches.

The defeats included a dramatic late 3-2 home defeat to Ipswich Town at Selhurst Park on Saturday, which means the Eagles have now conceded 11 goals in the top flight this term - the worst record in the Premier League.

Crystal Palace fans may argue that their defensive issues could be down to the fact that the club didn't effectively replace Maxence Lacroix in the summer transfer window, with free agent Takehiro Tomiyasu one of three central defensive signings.

The others were the loan additions of Axel Disasi and Honest Ahanor from Chelsea, but neither have covered themselves in glory in a red and blue shirt yet, with the former sent off in the 34th minute against Gary O'Neil's side.

Following a disappointing performance by Jaydee Canvot in the club's only league win of the season at Fulham, Sage made the controversial decision to drop him from the squad entirely at the weekend.

It was a move that didn't pay off after Disasi's early red card, with Palace ending up conceding three goals against the newly-promoted club.

Sage has shown that he isn't afraid to make brutal decisions, having dropped Dwight McNeill and Evann Guessand out of the matchday squad at Craven Cottage to provoke a response from the duo.

However, according to the Daily Mail , while club chiefs praised his hardline stance on those occasions, they were less impressed with the treatment of Canvot.

Steve Parish is said to have been left frustrated by the decision to drop the Frenchman, who is seen as a key part of the project, having established himself as a starter last term at the age of 19.

With Sage showing he isn't afraid to be ruthless when it comes to team selection, he needs to axe Zavier Gozo from his squad next for the final Premier League game before the international break against Leeds United on Sunday.

Palace signed the American forward in a £11m deal last month, but some fans may already argue that they would have been better off putting that money towards buying a Lacroix replacement, having added two loanees and a free agent centre-back to their squad.

It's always going to be difficult for a teenager arriving from the MLS to make an immediate impact in the Premier League, but so far the forward looks totally out of his depth in English football.

> It is great to welcome such an exciting young talent to Crystal Palace Football Club.

> “I am looking forward to seeing what Zavier can achieve with us during his time in South London.”

The problem is that Gozo is solely looking like a talent right now, He has only played 45 minutes in all competitions from the substitutes' bench, but he has failed to make any sort of impact, and it could be argued that the club would have been better off keeping Jesurun Rak-Sakyi around instead and loaning Gozo out.

Gozo is also getting in the squad ahead of Dario Osorio right now following the Chilea's arrival on deadline day, and it is time for him to get a chance in the squad instead.

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