Crystal Palace fans have well and truly been put through the wringer since the turn of the year.
Not only have they had to watch their side get hammered 5-0 by Arsenal to then watch them lose 4-1 to their arch-rivals Brighton & Hove Albion, but now they are set to be without their star players for some time.
Michael Olise is set to miss over two months of action with a hamstring strain, while Eberechi Eze will be out for at least three weeks with a thigh injury, meaning the Eagles' already lacklustre goal tally could look even meeker by May.
One of the players tasked with improving that tally is former Celtic ace Odsonne Edouard, and while he's having his most prolific season since joining the club, he simply isn't good enough to fire Palace up the table.
However, the answer to Roy Hodgson's goal-scoring problem could come from the club's own academy, as there, they have an 18-year-old goal machine on their books.
Odsonne Édouard Palace career in numbers
The Frenchman joined the Eagles in a deal from Scottish giants Celtic on deadline day 2021 for a fee of around £14m, and while there was some hope that he might be able to recreate his form from north of the border, that hope quickly dissipated.
In his first season, he scored six goals and provided three assists in 28 Premier League appearances, but in his second season, that dropped to five goals and two assists in 35 appearances.
2021/22
2022/23
2023/24
28
35
17
6
5
6
3
2
0
0.32
0.2
0.35
Now, in his third campaign at Selhurst Park, he has managed to score six goals in 17 appearances, meaning that, across his time with the South London outfit, he has averaged a goal involvement every 3.63 games, which just isn't enough to justify his place in the team.
Luckily, Steve Parish and Co won't have to get their wallets out to sign his replacement; they can promote from within.
Zach Marsh could replace Odsonne Édouard
Zach Marsh joined Palace's youth set-up from Watford in March 2022, and since then, he has been a force of nature for the junior sides.
He signed his first professional contract with the south Londoners nine months later, which was then extended in November.
It's easy to understand why the Eagles were so keen to tie the talented youngster down to an extension when looking at his record with the club's youth teams.
In all, the "absolute monster", as Palace content creator HLTCO described him, has made 39 appearances across the club's U18 and U21 sides, scored a remarkable 29 goals and provided 16 assists to boot, meaning he is averaging 1.15 goal involvements every game.
39
29
16
1.15
The "outrageous" talent, as described by HLTCO, has already racked up six hatricks this season and even made his first appearance for the senior side in a pre-season friendly against Crawley.
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The 44-year-old has an impressive track record in the game.
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While he is still undoubtedly raw, Marsh's frankly ridiculous goal record speaks for itself, and if the club start looking for a new number nine in the summer, they should really consider promoting the academy talent first, as he seems ready to explode.
