This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
After losing Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United for £50m, Crystal Palace were left with just one right-back in the shape of Joel Ward.
Roy Hodgson’s side set about finding a replacement for the England U21 star, and were linked with a number of names to replace Wan-Bissaka.
Chelsea’s Reece James was the subject of interest from the south Londoners, who saw a £25m bid rejected for his services, while another man in the form on Montpellier right-back Ruben Aguilar was linked with a move to Selhurst Park – the latter eventually signed a five-year contract with Monaco.
Bullet dodged
We previously outlined how the Eagles may have dodged a bullet in missing out on the French right-back Aguilar.
At the time, the 26-year-old had made three appearances for the Ligue 1 side. In those showings, Aguilar picked up one red card, one yellow card and also conceded ten goals, provoking the point that Palace may have been fortunate to miss out on his signature.
However, his performances since that article was written have only further emphasised our point.
Still not improving
Since then, Aguilar has made five more appearances for the side who previously housed the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Bernardo Silva, and things really haven’t got much better for the man who was also linked with Palace’s rivals Brighton in the summer window.
Aguilar has shipped eight more goals in those five appearances, meaning that his inclusion in the Monaco backline has seen 18 goals conceded in total across his eight appearances.
To add more emphasis to the point, Aguilar has also been sent off once again – to receive two red cards in your first eight appearances for a new club isn’t going to set the best first impression.
His most recent dismissal – coming against a St Etienne side including ex-Palace man Yohan Cabaye – prompted an angry reaction in which he was seen kicking the VAR monitor on his way off the pitch.
He may well turn his Monaco career around, but as of now, it’s safe to say Palace may have dodged a massive bullet.