Eddie Nketiah says Crystal Palace’s ability to harness and develop players’ talents make the club an exciting place to play football.
The South London-born striker put pen-to-paper on a five-year deal with Palace last week, having come through the ranks at Arsenal and established himself as a goalscorer at the highest level.
The 25-year-old concluded his time at the Gunners with an average of a goal just under every 180 minutes played cumulatively, and also as a senior England international, having debuted last year after becoming England Under-21s’ record goalscorer with 16 goals in 17 games.
In his first interview with Palace TV, Nketiah smiled: “I'm really excited that it's been done. Obviously, I'm happy to be here and I’m just excited to get on the pitch, help the team.
“It's been nice, obviously, interacting with my teammates, so I’m just looking forward to getting out there and helping the team.
“I’ve been there [Arsenal] for 11 years, so it was like a home to me, obviously. But yeah, I think leaving, you just want to take that next step in your career.
“I think Crystal Palace is a wonderful place here. I've seen a lot of players develop and take the next step in their career, so that's what I want to do: I want to improve. I want to play more minutes and hopefully help the team as much as I can.”
Nketiah has followed Palace’s recent progress from North London, and is looking forward to working with manager Oliver Glasner.
Palace’s new No. 9 is also close with fellow South Londoners Marc Guéhi and Ebere Eze, with whom he is looking forward to striking up an understanding on the pitch.
“I think the boss has come in and done really well,” he said. “I could see that from the outside watching him. It was an attractive place to come.
“You want to play football that's scoring a lot of goals, playing good football. So, yeah, it's definitely a good fit for myself and exciting for me and all the new boys that's come in. Hopefully, we can help the team as much as possible.
“I had a few messages with Ebs, to be honest. He called me a couple of times once he knew it was out there!
“He’s had glowing reviews every time I speak to him about how he's doing at the club, how he's finding it. He just thought it would be a really good fit for myself and so did me and my family so, yeah, that works well, and it's obviously good to have some familiar faces.”
Nketiah has enjoyed his first week’s training in South London under Glasner and along with his new teammates, adding: “It’s really exciting. I think he's an amazing manager, always positive, wanting to play forward, wanting to be attacking, so it's a really good fit.
“I think the team are doing really well. We're in a good moment at the moment, so it's good to get the first point on the board.
“I think the way we played against Chelsea was excellent, especially in the second-half. It’s exciting. I think it's exciting to be a Crystal Palace player and I’m looking forward to, like I said, getting out there and hopefully helping the team kick on.”
I know what it means to be a South Londoner, so I'm going to give that pride.
—Eddie Nketiah
Nketiah’s Palace debut could come next weekend with the visit of Leicester City to Selhurst Park, a ground where the forward has played three times previously for Arsenal.
“It's a difficult place to come and play against [Palace]! It's nice to be with the fans and the home support this time, so I'm really excited for my Selhurst debut and hopefully I can make it one to remember,” he said.
“I'm going to give my all. I know what it means to be a South Londoner, so I'm going to give that pride and show that pride on the pitch every time I step up.”
