Crystal Palace: Tyrick Mitchell is their unsung hero | OneFootball

Crystal Palace have been one of the surprise packages of the Premier League season in the opening weeks of the campaign, largely down to Patrick Vieira’s show of trust in several young stars.

What’s the story?

The Eagles may only have won one of their eight top-flight fixtures to date, but their entertaining and possession-orientated style has breathed new life into the capital club.

One of the inexperienced faces bringing this fresh wave of hope and optimism to south London is academy graduate Tyrick Mitchell, who has now started 14 Premier League games in a row, the longest run in his short career.

And journalist Tom Barclay has been praising the 22-year-old’s impressive displays, stating the youngster has begun to repay Vieira’s bold decision to make him his first-choice left-back.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “It’s a big show of faith in Mitchell’s quality and so far, he’s really repaid it, and his defensive stats have been really good.”

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Vieira’s unsung hero

Mitchell first make his breakthrough into the Palace first team towards the end of 2019/20 but was unable to oust Patrick van Aanholt from the starting XI on a regular basis.

However, new manager Vieira decided not to replace the Dutch international following the expiration of his contract over the summer, entrusting Mitchell to fill the void at full-back.

It was a brave decision by the former Nice boss, but one that has already been justified by the youngster’s eye-catching performances for the Selhurst Park outfit.

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The likes of Marc Guehi, Odsonne Edouard and Wilfried Zaha have all caught the eye this season but it’s safe to say that the left-back deserves a mention too.

As per WhoScored, Mitchell has achieved a match rating of 6.68 throughout 2021/22, the highest total for all of Palace’s defenders. And when looking at his underlying numbers, it’s easy to understand why he’s such an unsung hero.

The £10.8m-rated defender has averaged a whopping 3.5 tackles per league game and 1.8 interceptions, bettering all of his colleagues for both metrics.

Maintaining his current level on a consistent basis is the next step in Mitchell’s progression, but it seems as though the latest product out of Palace’s improving academy is set for a very bright future.