Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira has praised the quality of midfielder Eberechi Eze after his side defeated Montpellier 4-2 in a pre-season friendly at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Goals from Ivory Coast international Wilfried Zaha, Odsonne Edouard, who grabbed a brace and Marc Guehi ensured the Eagles finished their pre-season on a high as they prepare to host Arsenal in their Premier League opener on Friday.
Speaking after the game, the former Arsenal midfielder discussed two African players led by the 24-year-old Eze and new signing Cheick Doucoure from Mali.
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On Eze, who is of Nigerian ancestry, Vieira said as quoted by the club's official website: “It’s about the number of minutes [he plays]. He played a lot of friendly games and is in really good shape. There’s no doubt about his quality.
"He can create goals, he can score goals, and again on the other side – how can we help the team to defend better?"
On the assessment of 22-year-old Doucoure, who joined Palace from French Ligue 1 side Lens, Vieira said: “He did really well. He’s a player who still needs to grow and believe in himself even more.
"But you can see he’s really comfortable on the ball and switched his game quick enough for us.”
