“He cost the football club £30 million” - Ex-Premier League star Lee Hendrie labels former Arsenal man as flop of the season

Ex-Premier League midfielder Lee Hendrie has named former Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah as the Premier League 'flop of the season'. The 25-year-old joined Crystal Palace in the summer for a reported fee of £30 million but has failed to score in the league this season.

The lack of regular game time under Mikel Arteta's set-up made Nketiah leave the Emirates for Selhurst Park in the summer. However, the England international hasn't enjoyed the best of starts with the Eagles. He has failed to find the net in the league this term, managing just an assist in 13 outings.

Nketiah's only two goals for Palace have come in the Carabao Cup, scoring one each against Queens Park Rangers in the third round and Arsenal in the quarter-final. His lack of proficiency in the final third has seen him play in the shadows of Jean-Philippe Mateta, who has four goals and one assist in 19 league games.

This underwhelming performance from the former Arsenal man has forced Lee Hendrie to label Nketiah as the 'flop of the season'. Hendri, while speaking on 10bet said about Nketiah (via Metro):

"Eddie Nketiah at Crystal Palace has to be the biggest flop of the season."

He continued:

"He cost the football club £30m, which I know isn’t huge sums for a Premier League striker these days, but when you bring in a player like that, and Palace don’t often spend those kinds of sums, you have to expect more than what he’s produced.

"He only scored his second goal the other day. You need more from your striker, and he’s not offering that to Palace," the former Premier League star added.

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Lee Hendrie on why former Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah is struggling at Crystal Palace

Continuing about Eddie Nketiah on the aforementioned platform, Lee Hendrie suggested that Crystal Palace's style of play could be a reason why the player has struggled to score this season.

Hendrie pointed out that the 25-year-old scored mostly from deliveries into the box while with the Gunners. However, the system is different in Oliver Glasner’s side. Hendrie said:

"I watched him at Arsenal, and although he didn’t play every week, most of his goals came from deliveries into the box, but Palace don’t have the same quality in the wide areas as Arsenal and they don’t really play with wingers.

"I'm not saying he’s a bad player. I just think the move hasn’t worked for him at all. He has got ability. He can score goals, so maybe that system doesn’t suit him, but I think it’s fair to have expected more."

Hendrie concluded:

"Palace let Jordan Ayew and Odsonne Edouard leave this summer, he was supposed to help fill that void. They need him to take a bit of the pressure of Jean-Philippe Mateta, but he hasn’t been able to do that."

Arsenal are third in the standings with 36 points from 18 matches, while Palace are 15th with 20 points from 19 games.