‘Very impressed’ – Crystal Palace boss believes Adam Wharton can solve Cheick Doucoure’s injury absence

Roy Hodgson believes Crystal Palace has addressed Cheick Doucoure’s temporary absence with the addition of Adam Wharton.
The 20-year-old midfielder joined the South Londoners on the final day of the January transfer window, when they paid a sum of up to £22.5 million to Blackburn Rovers.
Wharton made his debut as a first-half substitute in last weekend’s 4-1 defeat at Brighton, replacing Marc Guehi and putting Chris Richards into the back four.
Doucoure has not played for the Eagles since late November, when he ruptured his Achilles tendon in a 2-1 loss to Luton, necessitating surgery.
“He’s a link-man,” Hodgson remarked of Doucoure.

“That was a term we frequently used in the past. When we were assembling our teams, we used the term “link-man.”
“Someone who isn’t necessarily the fastest or strongest player on the field, but he was always present and the one you could pivot the play around.
“When you had the ball in the back, you could get past him. When you had the ball in the front, he would be there to receive the next pass and keep things moving.
“This is what Doucoure did for us. Those athletes can fly under the spotlight because they don’t do anything exceptional, such as make 30-yard field goals.

“We’ve missed him, but I believe the club has addressed his temporary absence with Adam Wharton.”
“We have been quite delighted with his early work here; he does exactly what we thought we were missing.
“I thought his debut against Brighton was excellent, as did Daniel Munoz’s.
“That’s a little bit of hope and a bright spot on the horizon.”