29-year-old Ghanaian wide man Jeffrey Schlupp is looking forward to the 2022/23 Premier League campaign with renewed vigour. Schlupp, who contributed heavily to Crystal Palace’s comfortable mid-table finish in the 2021/22 Premier League table, featured 31 times for the Eagles and scored four goals. Palace boss Patrick Vieira has laid down the gauntlet to Schlupp to maintain his fitness to remain an integral part of his plans going forward.
The 2020/21 Premier League campaign was a stop-start season for Schlupp, who was laid low through injury. However, the Black Star winger avoided knocks and strains this season and was richly rewarded with regular game time at Selhurst Park. Schlupp told the club’s official site that he now feels “as good as [he has] done for [his] whole career” to date, adding that there was “plenty more to come”.
Schlupp has been a regular in the Premier League since the 2014/15 campaign, when he made his top-flight debut in Leicester colours. The following year, Schlupp went on to play an influential role in the Foxes’ miraculous title-winning campaign, which started with City rated as rank 5,000/1 outsiders to win the 2015/16 Premier League. However, a combination of unrivalled team spirit and camaraderie, combined with a healthy dose of in-form talent, saw Schlupp and Leicester over the line. Schlupp also ended the term as the club’s Young Player of the Year for the second season running.
However, halfway through the following campaign, the Foxes’ boss Claudio Ranieri agreed to sell him to Palace, who were managed by Sam Allardyce at the time. Schlupp has remained an Eagle ever since and current chief Patrick Vieira feels there is still room for improvement from the Ghanaian international in 2022/23. Schlupp was more of a ‘super-sub’ in the closing stages of the 2021/22 season. Vieira asked Schlupp to change the game against Aston Villa and he duly scored the Eagles’ equaliser to cancel out Ollie Watkins’ first half opener.
Schlupp lauds the impact of Patrick Vieira at Selhurst Park
Schlupp spoke on behalf of many within the Crystal Palace dressing room about the positive impact that boss Vieira has had in his first 12 months at the helm. Schlupp praised his man-management skills and his determination to “understand everyone personally”. Schlupp spoke glowingly about Vieira’s desire to learn “everyone’s strengths and weaknesses” to try and “unlock” more potential from the squad.
Vieira is also keen to instil the winning mentality that he carried throughout his playing career. The Frenchman was at the heart of Arsenal’s most successful period in the club’s history, including their ‘Invincibles’ season. Schlupp says Vieira is keen to embark on a “mentality shift” to turn Palace from pretenders to contenders. Schlupp acknowledged that many Premier League sides were “starting to not like playing against [them]”, particularly on home soil where Selhurst Park is something of a fortress for the Eagles.
The prospects for Schlupp and Crystal Palace in 2022/23
A mid-table finish looks likely once again for Crystal Palace next season. Although Vieira will be keen to push further still towards the Europa Conference League qualification spots. Nevertheless, the bookmakers have priced them as long as 40/1 to finish in the top 4, which is on a level playing field with the likes of Southampton and Leeds United. A top 6 finish looks rather more possible in the eyes of the bookies, with some going as short as 9/1 on a Europa League place for the Eagles, which is similar to that of bitter rivals Brighton and big-spending Everton.
The biggest issue for Vieira and the Palace hierarchy is that their top two performers from 2021/22 were loanees. Chelsea defender Marc Guehi and fellow Blues prospect Conor Gallagher were the star men from last season, but neither are likely to be in a Palace jersey next term. A new dominant centre half and a dynamic box-to-box midfielder will surely be high on the list of Vieira’s transfer targets. For Schlupp, staying fit and continuing to give Vieira a selection headache will be his number-one priority in 2022/23.