Vieira suggests Jordan Ayew’s best position for Crystal Palace, and it’s not a central role

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira has admitted playing Jordan Ayew out of position ahead of their Premier League date with Leicester City.

WHAT HAPPENED? The 31-year-old Black Star has been deployed by manager Patrick Vieira ina central role for the Eagles in the top flight this season.

Ahead of their visit to take on the Foxes at King Power Stadium on Saturday, the former Arsenal midfielder explained his decision to play Ayew in that role, insisting it offers the team an extra element of tactical flexibility.

WHAT DID VIEIRA SAY? “Jordan is the type of player that is happy to be on the field regardless of his position,” Vieira said as quoted by club website. “He is going to be giving 100 percent to the team.

“He is one of those players that you call a team player. On the pre-season tour, we tried him for around 15-20 minutes in central midfield and he did really well.

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“We had a bit of a conversation on that and he liked to be around those positions as well, so that gave us a bit more tactical flexibility – but I like to have players in their best positions and his best position is on the right-hand side.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Ayew’s display for Palace has been great so far in this campaign. He has managed eight appearances, 556 minutes altogether. In total, he has provided one league assist.

He last featured for Palace in the 2-1 win against Leeds United on October 9. Last season, he played 31 league games, scored three goals and provided three assists.

WHAT NEXT FOR AYEW? Despite picking up an injury which saw him substituted in the 65th minute against Leeds in the last assignment, he will most likely get a starting role against Leicester on Saturday.

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