Many Crystal Palace fans are excited about Oliver Glasner's first full season in charge after he joined the club in February this year and guided the Eagles to a top-half finish, winning seven of his 13 games.
A massive part of their success was, of course, the return to fitness of Michael Olise, who has now decided to make the move from Palace to Germany, joining Vincent Kompany at Bayern Munich, in their attempt to regain the Bundesliga title.
Despite making the signing of Ismaila Sarr from Marseille, seemingly to replace Olise in that wide right position, Palace could actually have someone already at the club, better suited to take the mantle.
The Michael Olise situation
Despite interest from Chelsea and Newcastle, plus the option to extend his deal at Crystal Palace with a higher wage, Olise decided on a move to Bayern Munich.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Bayern paid £45m as a fixed fee to Palace, whilst also paying £5m in add-ons as part of the deal. Olise signed a five-year deal, putting him on around £220k per week.
Olise made 19 appearances for Palace last season, all of which came in the Premier League, where he scored ten goals, and provided six assists in his 1,278 minutes played.
Michael Olise's potential replacement
Palace look like they could have their next budding superstar for that right flank, with an academy prospect who was described as "remarkable" by previous manager, Roy Hodgson.
Jesurun Rak-Sayki, like Olise, started out in Chelsea's academy system, making the move to Palace in 2019 to play in their U18s and U21s teams. The 21-year-old scored eight goals and provided eight assists at U18 level, and scored 24 goals, providing eight assists at U21 level.
He also enjoyed an excellent campaign out on loan in the 2022/23 season, making 43 League One appearances for Charlton, scoring 15 goals and providing eight assists, whilst totalling 3.499 minutes played.
xG
0.27
0.39
0.20
xAG
0.13
0.41
0.16
Progressive Carries
4.67
4.79
3.04
Progressive Passes
1.33
5.49
2.24
Shots
3.33
3.94
1.55
Shots on Target
0.67
1.41
0.62
Key Passes
1.33
2.54
1.24
Shot-Creating Actions
4.00
5.77
2.48
Whilst Rak-Sakyi's metrics are based on his minimal minutes at senior level last season, these give us an indication of the type of player he is, and how he compares in style to new signing, Sarr.
The 21-year-old winger had a higher xG per 90 with 0.27, produced more progressive carries (even ranking closely to Olise) with 4.67 per 90, doubled the shot volume of Sarr with 3.33 per 90 to the Senegalese wingers' 1.55, and averaged four shot-creating actions per 90, compared to Sarr's 2.48.
Shot-creating actions are pieces of play that lead to a shot. These include moments such as a pass, take-on or foul being drawn.
Rak-Sakyi adds more creativity and wants to drive at his man 1v1, carrying the ball and getting the team forward. He also wants to use his creative passing to unlock defences, creating shots for himself and others, something Sarr lacks.
Even though Palace have gone out and spent money to replace Olise with Sarr, their perfect replacement could be right under their noses, with Rak-Sakyi waiting for his chance to truly explode onto the scene.
It's just a shame, from a Palace perspective, that they may have to wait until next season to see him, with Leeds reportedly close to securing his services on a loan deal.
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