Jairo Riedewald looked like a huge Frank de Boer flop before Roy Hodgson intervened at Crystal Palace.
Many people were sceptical when Roy Hodgson was appointed as Crystal Palace manager in September, to clean up the mess left behind by the ill-fated Frank de Boer tenure.
However, the former England boss has impressed everybody with the way that he has lifted the Eagles from rock bottom to 12th in the Premier League, four points clear of the relegation zone.
A mark of Hodgson’s fine work has been how he has improved players. Wilfried Zaha has taken his game to the next level and loanees Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Timothy Fosu-Mensah are shining under his guidance.
And now the 70-year-old is working his magic on Jairo Riedewald, whose Palace career appeared dead in the water following De Boer’s speedy departure, and a debut to forget against Huddersfield Town.
De Boer had signed Riedewald from Ajax to lead Palace into a new era of possession football from defence, but that was soon scrapped as Hodgson returned the Londoners to their roots.
The 21-year-old made only two second-half substitute appearances in the league from September to December, during which Hodgson used the EFL Cup to experiment with him in midfield.
It has been this transition which has saved Riedewald’s career at Selhurst Park, and the young Dutchman has now started three of Palace’s last four matches in the centre of the park.
For last Saturday’s win over Burnley, Riedewald was preferred to Yohan Cabaye in midfield – a sign of how much Hodgson feels the player has learned about the role in such a short time.
Although Riedewald occasionally played as a holding midfielder for Ajax, spreading the ball out from the halfway line is a totally different proposition to protecting a back four which is fighting the drop.
Not only has Hodgson rescued Palace their £8m investment – fee reported by The Croydon Advertiser – he has started a transition which could save them millions on a defensive midfielder in the future.
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