Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira admits playing Jordan Ayew out of position this season

Published on: 16 October 2022

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira has disclosed that he has been playing Jordan Ayew out of position this season.

Ayew has been deployed in a central role for the Eagles so far this term, having made nine league appearances and provided one assist.

Ahead of their visit to take on the Foxes at King Power Stadium on Saturday, Vieira explained his decision to play the 31-year-old in that role, insisting it offers the team an extra element of tactical flexibility.

"Jordan is the type of player that is happy to be on the field regardless of his position,” the former Arsenal midfielder said as quoted by club website. “He is going to be giving 100 percent to the team.

“He is one of those players that you call a team player. On the pre-season tour, we tried him for around 15-20 minutes in central midfield and he did really well.

“We had a bit of a conversation on that and he liked to be around those positions as well, so that gave us a bit more tactical flexibility – but I like to have players in their best positions and his best position is on the right-hand side.”

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