Matheus Franca’s Crystal Palace career finally has lift-off – so what comes next?

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Matheus Franca has had plenty of cause for celebration of late.

First, he scored in a friendly against Norwegian side Hamarkameratene during Crystal Palace’s mid-season training camp in Marbella. Last week, he became a father for the first time. And on Wednesday, just a day after he turned 21, he scored his first competitive goal for Palace in a 1-1 draw with Southampton.

It has been a testing time for Franca since he arrived at Palace in August 2023 in a deal worth £15million from Flamengo. He suffered with a stress fracture in his back and did not make his first Palace appearance until late October last season. More recently, a variety of injuries have kept him out for around 10 months.

No wonder his intervention at Southampton generated such joy, both for the player and the travelling support, who serenaded him with the song — a reworking of the pop standard ‘Sway’ — that has become his anthem.

As the samba rhythm starts to play,
Dance with me, make me sway.
Matheus Franca running down the wing.
Scoring goals, makes the Palace sing.

Even before Franca’s 75th-minute introduction on Wednesday it could be heard from the away end and the eagerness to see him thrive is understandable.

Even with the fleeting glimpses which had unsurprisingly produced little to date, the excitement is palpable when he is introduced. Franca — a young Brazilian who brings something different and plays with flair that is otherwise largely absent in this squad — remains a source of intrigue and excitement.

Those fans have needed to be patient. This was Franca’s first Premier League appearance of the season: he has had to prove his fitness with outings for Palace’s Under-21 side in February and three very brief FA Cup appearances.

He was introduced at St Mary’s with Palace labouring in search of an equaliser against Southampton, who were searching for the win that would ensure they did not finish the season with the lowest points tally in Premier League history. 

He duly delivered it in the second minute of stoppage time, and in an unexpected fashion — with his head. Jefferson Lerma’s cross was far from easy to turn into Aaron Ramsdale’s goal, but Franca met it well, twisting his body and connecting with sufficient power to find a gap between goalkeeper and post, despite Ramsdale getting a hand to it.

Matheus Franca heads in Palace’s equaliser (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

Franca did what Palace have hoped he will do; bring something different, do something unexpected and his teammates appreciated it.

After the final whistle, Dean Henderson and Jean-Philippe Mateta pushed Franca — who had celebrated by putting the ball under his shirt in a nod to his newborn child — to the front of the stand where Palace’s travelling support were massed. Again, they sang his song. He lifted his hands above his head to enjoy the affection before throwing his shirt into the crowd.

“He had three or four setbacks (including) a surgery but he was always working hard,” manager Oliver Glasner said in his post-match press conference. “There is a moment in life when you get back what you invest. In the last two weeks he has had a lot of positive emotions for all he has invested.

“Today I wasn’t pleased with his boots, because he slipped three or four times before he scored the goal so fortunately it was a header. He has skills, (especially) one vs one. We can see he scores goals. This is a feeling, sometimes you can’t learn where to be in the box. It was a great header, it wasn’t easy because Ramsdale was there next to the post.

“If we didn’t have this belief he could help the team and score he wouldn’t get minutes so everything he did today he showed us in training.”

Eddie Nketiah told Premier League Productions after the game that Franca is “a bubbly guy to be around” and that confidence, both in himself and from his manager, will be essential going forward. There should be caution not to expect too much. Injuries have come at unfortunate times, and while Glasner says there should be no pressure after 10 months out, there will undoubtedly be some.

Franca is congratulated by his fellow forward Jean-Philippe Mateta (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

In part that stems from the timing of his arrival: he was effectively signed with Wilfried Zaha’s departure in mind and presented as if he were a direct future replacement. It was his face on the side of the Selhurst Park fanzone and club shop. If that has not weighed on his mind, then it has been in supporters’ thoughts.

There have been glimpses of potential in his Under-21 appearances but there have also been disappointing performances. Inconsistency is to be expected, especially after injury and so few meaningful minutes for the first team, but the positive words are not just easy platitudes: he is genuinely considered to apply himself well in training and present himself with professionalism.

The patience that has been forced upon everyone is now required in a different way. There must be an acceptance that this process is not linear and that while there might now be excitement, it may be some time before Franca has an opportunity to establish himself in this team. Glasner referenced Ismaila Sarr taking time to bed in as a regular starter by way of comparison. 

The goal was an excellent moment in an otherwise unremarkable 15 minutes but if Glasner is true to his word then Franca can presumably expect more chances when the game situation affords it.

After experiencing such a difficult start to life in England, Franca finally seems to be in a good place.

(Top photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

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