Reigning FA Cup Champions Crystal Palace have made their transfer decision regarding Super Eagles midfielder Christantus Uche, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 22-year-old joined Oliver Glasner's side on a season-long loan with the option to make the move permanent for a fee of £17m, provided he starts ten league games for the FA Cup Champions.
However, things haven’t panned out for Uche in London as he’s played just 44 minutes of Premier League football after a decent start to the season in Spain, where he’d scored a goal and registered an assist for Jose Bordalas’ men.
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Crystal Palace make Uche transfer decision
Glasner’s men have lost two of their opening four Conference League games, and the former Frankfurt coach has been left frustrated by his side’s lack of cutting edge.
Their lack of edge in front of the goal has become second-nature for them this season, and the Austrian has called for attacking reinforcements during the January transfer window, a window where Uche might be on International duty with the Super Eagles for the AFCON 2025 tournament in Morocco.
“The situation where we have all these chances, we are missing. We could talk about six, seven, or eight games,” the 51-year-old said in quotes revealed by Standard UK.
“A few of them we won, Liverpool. We can turn it around, but we can’t always rely on keeping a clean sheet.
However, it appears Uche's influence in the Eagles' 2-1 over Fulham four days ago has impressed the club's bosses, and they're now looking to give him more minutes, which could, in turn, seal a permanent transfer.
The Getafe loanee played 24 minutes off the bench at Craven Cottage on Sunday, the most he's gotten so far in a game this season.
His attempt led to a corner kick, which eventually resulted in the winner. Yeremi Pino's corner kick was headed home by Palace's captain, Marc Guehi.
According to Standard Sport UK, there are no plans to cancel the 22-year-old’s loan despite him receiving limited minutes since a summer deadline day move from Getafe.
The Nigerian midfielder made a good impression against Fulham, and it is understood that despite a lack of minutes, Uche wants to stay at Palace and help them try to qualify for the Champions League.
Additionally, according to FIFA rules, it would be impossible for Uche to return to Getafe in January, given that he already played for them before joining Crystal Palace in January.
FIFA rule (RSTP) states that a player can be registered with up to three clubs in one season, but can only play official matches for two, with an exception for overlapping league seasons, allowing play for a third club if contractual duties are met, though the main rule limits them to two clubs during the standard transfer window period
