Jairo Riedewald was supposed to be a big part of the Frank de Boer revolution at Crystal Palace.
HITC are using the international break to analyse who has been worth every penny, and who has been a waste of money.
Here we take a closer look at Jairo Riedewald’s move to Crystal Palace from Ajax.
Riedewald was the first soldier signed for the Frank de Boer revolution at Selhurst Park.
The defender had the pedigree to help his compatriot usher in a new era of possession football at Palace, graduating with distinction from Ajax’s famous academy, and boasting the best passing accuracy in the Eredivisie in 2016-17.
His Palace career could not have got off to a worst start as the Eagles suffered a 3-0 home defeat to Huddersfield Town, after which De Boer immediately removed Riedewald from the spotlight, and his starting lineup.
Riedewald has not found the road to recovery since. The De Boer movement was killed off before it started, as the Dutchman was sacked four games into the season and replaced by Roy Hodgson.
Hodgson is of the same pragmatic nature of previous Palace managers and has restored English-schooled players ahead of Riedewald, who has made three substitute appearances in the league since De Boer’s departure.
The 21-year-old’s only two starts for Hodgson have come as a holding midfielder in the Carabao Cup, but Yohan Cabaye and Luka Milivojevic appear to have those spots locked down in the Premier League.
The only silver lining for the Eagles is that young Riedewald has enough admirers on the continent that Palace will probably be able to recoup the £7.9m they spent on him – fee according to The Guardian.
Grade: E
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