Crystal Palace made their first signing under Sam Allardyce and it was to bolster an area of the pitch they clearly needed to reinforce. Jeffrey Schlupp has joined Crystal Palace on a 4-and-a-half-year deal worth £13m. The left-back was surplus to requirements at the King Power and this would seem to be a pretty good deal especially from Leicester City’s point of view.
While Palace seem to have enough quality, the nature of the start forced them to make an addition at left-back and this is likely to be the start of a number of other signings. Which, after Alan Pardew’s disastrous reign seems compulsory for the Eagles to even have a chance to mount a comeback.
Crystal Palace have a shockingly low depth in the fullback region with Kelly and Ward, who are essentially right-backs and Zeki Fryers as the only left-back who is far from making the grade. The Eagles couldn’t possibly leave this area of the field unattended and hence the move to sign a left-back topped their list of agendas.
Jeff Schlupp was born to Ghanaian parents in Hamburg, Germany on 23 December 1992, and raised mostly in England after his family moved there when he was young. He attended Oakgrove School in Milton Keynes along with Carlisle United goalkeeper Max Crocombe. He was Leicester’s youth academy product and was given the squad number 31 in the season 2010-11. Schlupp signed a new contract keeping him at the club until 2013 on 14 March 2011.
Schlupp joined Brentford on a one-month loan on 14 March 2011, declining a call-up to the Germany Under-19 squad in order to complete the move. After impressing sufficiently, the loan deal was extended to the end of the 2010–11 season.
The former Leicester man is an extremely attack-minded player and he looks to bomb forward at every given opportunity. He is an excellent dribbler and is known for his powerful shots from distance. He also tracks back and covers his position well. He is a good tackler and also likes to play long balls. He was usurped by Christian Fuchs at the left-back slot last season and his appearances were mainly as a sub. But being usurped by Ben Chilwell as the second choice seemed to be the final straw for him.
His attacking nature makes him an ideal candidate for a team like Palace who possess a bevvy of creative players and with targets like Benteke and Dann in the box to aim at, his crossing will also prove to be useful.
