It has been a mixed start to life at Crystal Palace for Christantus Uche, reports wearepalace.uk.The Nigerian impressed on his Premier League debut against SunderlandPremier League debut against Sunderland despite only playing the final six minutes, and also showed plenty of determination after coming on at the interval of the Carabao Cup win over Millwall.
Uche has – however – played just one minute of senior football since that south London derby, even appearing for the Crystal Palace U21 side as Oliver Glasner overlooks him, and the situation has shocked Mundo Deportivo.
The Nigeria international was a top player in La Liga, scoring once and assisting once in three games for Getafe this season before his move to Selhurst Park.
Mundo Deportivo begin the headline to their story with the word “disbelief” – expressing shock that Uche has gone from starring for Getafe to now playing with the Crystal Palace U21 side.
The Spanish news outlet call the 22-year-old “irrelevant” under Glasner, and opine that he personally must be stunned to have gone from a key man for Getafe to his current role as a fringe player.
However, Mundo Deportivo are not exactly painting the entire picture. With the exception of a bona fide superstar such as Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe, the situation involving Uche – who must make ten starts to seal a permanent move – feels pretty normal for a new signing.
The man born in Owerri joined a settled side who were getting excellent results while largely using the same starting XI – winning the FA Cup and FA Community Shield before stretching the unbeaten run to a record 19 games.
Therefore, unless an injury occurred, there was little reason for Glasner to throw Uche into the starting XI straight away, especially as talents such as Ismaila Sarr, Yeremy Pino, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Adam Wharton play in the same positions he can.
Glasner has already explained that he put Uche and Romain Esse into the U21 side because they did not feature as much as others on international duty, and he wanted them to have some match practice.
The 2025/26 campaign is set to be a lengthy one as the Eagles attempt to progress in four competitions, so we are confident the Crystal Palace No.12 will get his opportunities to shine.
