Crystal Palace starlet Malcolm Ebiowei will hope that Oliver Glasner didn’t watch his full debut for loan side RWD Molenbeek yesterday, as the 20-year-old struggled to impose himself.
Crystal Palace sent academy jewel Malcolm Ebiowei on loan to Belgium in January in the hope that the winger would gain experience through senior minutes abroad.
It’s not the first time that the 20-year-old has ventured away from Selhurst Park in the bid to secure regular game time, with him spending half of the 2022/23 campaign on loan at Hull City.
Ebiowei made 12 appearances in the Championship for the Tigers and failed to score or assist, something that he quickly put right in his first appearance on loan this term as he assisted on his debut for Belgian Pro League outfit, RWD Molenbeek.
Since assisting on his debut, the Englishman has made only three appearances after being an unused substitute on three occasions however, he was finally rewarded with his full debut yesterday.
Malcolm Ebiowei had a disastrous full debut for RWD Molenbeek
For the first time in his loan spell, Ebiowei was selected to start for Molenbeek in the Jupiler Pro League against Cercle Brugge, an outing that the youngster will be keen to quickly forget.
The fixture ended in a 4-0 defeat for the bottom-of-the-table side, with the Palace youngster being one of the least impressive performers on the day for his loan club.
In the 90 minutes that he was on the pitch, the former Arsenal starlet lost possession 17 times, recorded no shots on goal and committed two fouls, via Sofascore, telling of a bad day at the office in Belgium.
Oliver Glasner will have a decision to make over Malcolm Ebiowei’s future
Not only was Ebiowei’s performance poor, but his display lacked the fight that Palace will want to see from the 20-year-old.
Branded as being “catastrophic” by journalist Sebastien Sterpigny on his full debut was perhaps not what the Eagles youngster would’ve wanted from his first start at the club.
Now, the dynamic attacker will face an uphill battle to end the season on a high in the bid to grasp a spot in Oliver Glasner’s side next campaign, something that looks to be far away following yesterday’s display.
It wasn’t long ago that the Englishman was lauded as “outstanding” by Roy Hodgson for his display for Palace’s U21s earlier in the 2023/24 calendar however, Glasner will now want to see proof that the 20-year-old can progress at senior level.
Luckily for Ebiowei, time is on his side to redeem himself at Molenbeek although it may now take a lot to remove his unwanted “catastrophic” label.
