It seemed like Patrick van Aanholt was set to miss the trip back to the north east this weekend, but Roy Hodgson admits that might not be the case.
Van Aanholt is best known for his spell with Sunderland, but he also enjoyed a few months on loan at Newcastle back in 2010. Nowadays he’s a very different player to the one we had at St James’ Park, and his potential return could give Crystal Palace a real boost.
“Patrick van Aanholt has started training with us again, so that’s very positive,” Hodgson told Palace’s official website.
“We will see if he can play tomorrow. But if he can it will be a major boost because that’s been a problem position for us in the time he has been out.”
The Dutch defender is a real threat going forwards, something our rivals Sunderland can attest to. It was at the Stadium of Light where he really started to prove himself, becoming a goalscoring defender and a fantasy football player’s dream.
While he’s still a bit suspect defensively, he’s a player who could cause us a lot of problems. For all of Palace’s injury woes, they still have some strong players who could decide the game at St James’ Park.
Initially it looked like we’d just need to keep Wilfried Zaha quiet, but now we might have to deal with Van Aanholt as well.
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