Crystal Palace had to fight off competition from Manchester United to sign Malcolm Ebiowei from Derby County last summer. Highly-rated Ebiowei felt that Crystal Palace, who have previously signed several young emerging talent from England’s lower divisions, were the right club for him. The 2023/24 season might be the season where we will see if Ebiowei’s decision to join Palace was right.

The below visualisation shows Malcolm Ebiowei’s numbers from the 22/23 season when on loan at Hull City.

As a 17-year-old, Malcolm Ebiowei was integrated into senior football at Derby County, and he was, in fact, quite a regular in the senior team towards the end of the 2021/2022 season. His impressive cameos, even without a lot of output in front of the goal, secured him his transfer to Crystal Palace.

In the first half of the 2022/23 season, Ebiowei struggled for game time, confirmed his loan move to Hull City in January, and found the necessary game time at the Championship club, making 12 appearances in the league — mostly coming off the bench.

The 20-year-old is known for his electric pace and quick feet with the ball and isn’t afraid to take on his opponents. Ranking above average for on-the-ball metrics, Malcolm Ebiowei, however, did not score a goal or an assist during his time at Hull City, but this should not take anything away from the fact that the former Chelsea and Arsenal academy player is a sharpshooter in front of goal. Hodgson is always very demanding of his players on the pitch, especially off the ball, and Malcolm does seem to have that ability under his belt.

Having already impressed a lot of people during his academy days, it is now time for Ebiowei to show what he is capable of on the big stage. It is more likely that Ebiowei will stay with Palace this season, but if he is sent out on loan, it wouldn’t be bad either.