To put it diplomatically, Crystal Palace fans have endured some mixed results of late – including close-fought wins over Sheffield United and Brentford. However, they have also been subjected to some terrible losses, including a 5-0 thumping at the hands of Arsenal.
That said, one area the club have excelled over the last month is the transfer market, as not only have they managed to keep their most important players, but they have also added to the squad with some intelligent acquisitions in Adam Wharton and Daniel Muñoz.
The latter may have only cost £7m, but his impact could be significant, especially for a player who is already struggling to nail down a starting role in Roy Hodgson's side, Nathaniel Clyne.
The former Liverpool ace has only started 32% of the Eagles' Premier League games this season. Still, he could be about to see that number drop significantly if the Colombian international hits the ground running.
Clyne's season in numbers
The former Liverpool ace, who Dejan Lovren once described as like "a sports car – he's quick, strong and an intelligent guy", has been a Palace player since moving to the club for free in October 2020, and while he has been more than useful in his time in south London, it's clear that his importance is waning.
He is firmly behind club captain Joel Ward in the pecking order – who has started 73% of league games this term – and based on his output this season, it's not hard to see why.
The Englishman has not registered a single goal or assist in his 14 appearances, and his underlying numbers are even worse.
According to FBref, which compares players in similar positions across Europe's top five leagues, the 32-year-old ranks in the bottom 45% for full-backs for blocks, the bottom 39% for clearances, the bottom 32% for tackles, the bottom 29% for interceptions, the bottom 22% for non-penalty goals and the bottom 20% for successful take ons, all per 90.
Percentile
Top 38%
Bottom 45%
Bottom 39%
Bottom 32%
Bottom 29%
Bottom 22%
Bottom 20%
Bottom 10%
Bottom 8%
Bottom 8%
Worse yet, those are some of his best statistics, according to FBref, so it seems practically guaranteed that he will see minimal – if any – action from now until the end of the season.
Why Muñoz will usurp Clyne
Fans should definitely be excited about the arrival of Muñoz, as while he might be a relative unknown to fans of the Premier League, he has been an incredibly effective full-back for Belgian giants Genk for years.
In his 17 Jupiler Pro League starts for the side before completing his move this week, he scored five goals and provided one assist, meaning he was averaging a goal involvement once every 2.83 games.
He was just as effective the season prior, scoring seven and providing seven assists in 30 appearances, so it is easy to understand why South American football expert Tim Vickery told Sky Sports that Muñoz has "plenty of goals in him."
In sharp contrast to Clyne's underlying numbers, FBref has placed the Colombian international in the top 1% of full-backs for non-penalty goals, non-penalty expected goals, touches in the opposition penalty area, the top 2% for progressive passes, the top 6% for passes attempted and he ranks incredibly highly for many other metrics.
Percentile
Top 1%
Top 1%
Top 1%
Top 2%
Top 4%
Top 4%
Top 6%
Top 6%
Top 7%
Top 8%
Top 11%
Granted, in his case, FBref use the next best 14 competitions instead of Europe's top five leagues for comparison, but even if Muñoz were to see those numbers half in the Premier League, then he would still be a far more useful player than Clyne.
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Ultimately, this is a transfer that will help improve the Eagles' attacking impetus and finally call an end to Clyne's time at the club.