Oliver Glasner has frequently bemoaned Crystal Palace’s lack of attacking options.
He has not liked the look of those at his disposal, slim pickings though they were. Romain Esse has been considered too inexperienced, not defensively capable and unsuited to a No 10 role. Christantus Uche was physically adept but had expected too much when arriving and, in any case, Palace have changed their view over his best position as the season has progressed.
Their winter transfer window recruitment furnished Glasner with three new forwards — Brennan Johnson, Evann Guessand and Jorgen Strand Larsen — and Ismaila Sarr has since returned from his time with Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations.
All of a sudden, his options look far better — in ability, style and simple availability.
But as a consequence, some will miss out. Yeremy Pino was on the bench for the 3-1 defeat by Chelsea on January 25 and again for the 3-2 loss against Burnley last week. Even Johnson, at the time of his arrival on January 2, the club’s most expensive signing (£35million/$48m from Tottenham Hotspur), has found himself out of the starting XI for the past two games.
Yet it will be a different attacker who is most concerned about where he stands under Glasner.
Uche must be wondering what will happen now. He signed on loan from Getafe in the summer with an obligation to become permanent should he start 10 Premier League games. He has not made a single one. Only three senior starts have come across all competitions. He has played only 491 minutes this season.
At first, Glasner saw him as an option at No 10, with the game in front of him seen as a better fit, but also as someone who could play anywhere in the attacking positions. Then, a few months in, it changed. Uche was very much considered a striker. Now, though, his most likely position is a supporting one, used as an act of desperation. If that.
Last week, when Palace were required to confirm their squad for the remainder of their Conference League campaign, it was the 22-year-old who made way as the criteria of association and club-trained players meant they could name only 24 of a possible 25 senior players.
Even if it was a practical and logical choice given how their attacking options now outweigh the players elsewhere on the pitch, it still spoke to the lack of faith in Uche to make a meaningful contribution. Ironic, really, because his only notable offerings have come in this competition, namely scoring in the 3-0 win over Shelbourne in December and a week later producing an outstanding finish in the 2-2 draw with Finnish side KuPS.
The standard of opposition, though, was far weaker than in the Premier League and he has since failed to perform in substitute appearances against Nottingham Forest and Burnley. The effort is not in question, but the ability very much is.
“Some have to be (association-trained), some have to be club-trained,” Glasner said in his pre-match press conference before the Burnley game, the first time he had spoken to the media after naming his squad.
“Caleb Kporha is in the squad because he fulfils this regulation and that means we could change just three players. We brought in three new signings, all attackers. I see Uche clearly as a No 9 and we have Strand Larsen and Eddie Nketiah. It was to have a good balance in the team and I couldn’t drop an attacker to add a ‘false nine’.
Jorgen Strand Larsen’s arrival has pushed Christantus Uche further down the pecking order (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
“He was disappointed but I always explain my thoughts and reasons. He accepted it and trained well.”
It is not a new situation for Uche, in that he was scarcely called upon, even when other options were few and far between. At that point, with so little at his disposal, it made less sense that Glasner declined to afford him opportunities. He offered a different profile at the very least and put himself about on the pitch.
Perhaps it has become clearer with time that Glasner does not think he is suited to the level at this point in his career. Persisting with Uche would require patience and a financial outlay, and Palace do seem willing to invest either.
The arrival of Strand Larsen — proven in the Premier League and with a £43m price tag from Wolverhampton Wanderers — Nketiah’s impending return and Jean-Philippe Mateta being available again at some point this season combine to make Uche’s path to the first team a difficult one.
He ought to have been used more when there was little other choice, but barring those Conference League performances and a promising game a week earlier in the victory over Fulham, there has been so little to force Glasner’s hand.
At the end of the season, Uche will return to Spain and no longer be of concern to Palace. That will come as a relief. The only saving grace is that they did not commit to a purchase so readily.
His exclusion from the Conference League squad is simply the latest disappointment in a disastrous loan move.