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Patrick Vieira says that Odsonne Edouard needs to score soon to get his confidence up but insists he is pleased with how the forward has played for the team this season. The summer arrival from Celtic has three goals in a Palace shirt so far this season, though two of those came on his debut against Spurs back in September. In the Premier League, he is intercepting more passes and making more tackles than he ever did for the Hoops. The only thing missing currently is more consistency in front of the goal.
Patrick Viera said: “I think for strikers the more goals you score the higher your confidence is and he needs to score goals. But when you look at the other side of his game I think he helps us to play better. Him coming in between the lines or holding the ball and combining with those around him – he is really good at that. I believe against Everton he had a good performance and the only thing that was missing was a goal.”
Edouard has had to be patient at times this season and hasn’t always played in his natural centre-forward position. Benteke hit a purple patch between October and November where he scored four goals in five games, while against Arsenal and Man City he was played on the wing to accommodate for other players.
Patrick Viera added: “I think it is about how can we play and him be a part of the play when in possession. We need to create chances for him to score those goals. He is there in the box but maybe the timing is not good or maybe the ball doesn’t arrive at the right time.”
At 24 years of age and having signed a four-year contract when joining Palace over the summer there is still plenty of time for Edouard to build himself a lasting career in south London.
