It is Crystal Palace’s first glimpse of what to expect from their £25m summer signing, the second most expensive transfer in the club’s history. The understanding, the intelligence, the economy of effort: in one run and one touch, Nketiah showed the sharp edge he adds to a team.
He runs to the corner flag to unveil his phone-call celebration for the first time in a Palace shirt – the first time since his final Arsenal goal, almost a year ago, when he sealed a hat-trick against Sheffield United in the Premier League. Back then he was the man of the moment, having earned his first England cap a few days earlier, but what happened next is why he couldn’t stay at Arsenal any longer. Nketiah was dropped two games later and started only one more league game under Mikel Arteta all season.
“It was about me being happy,” says the 25-year-old. “I wasn’t unhappy – there were things I loved about the club, I’d been at Arsenal all my life – but at the end of the day, a football player wants to play football. Obviously only 11 can play and you have to respect the manager’s decision. But there comes a point when you have to think about your personal development.”
Nketiah’s was a familiar dilemma, especially among homegrown players at the top end of the Premier League, where squads are overflowing with talent. Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips fell out of the England picture while at Manchester City; Scott McTominay and Conor Gallagher were pushed out of Manchester United and Chelsea respectively this summer. Increasingly players are asking themselves: stay, or play
“Especially as a striker, you need rhythm,” Nketiah says. “You see players go a couple games without scoring and then have a purple patch, but in order to have that you need that consistency in minutes. It’s difficult, but it’s life. There were times where I did play and had a run [of games] and I enjoyed it. I think that’s the difficult part. You enjoy playing so much that when you don’t have the opportunities, it’s difficult to take.”
He is speaking to The Independent backstage at a hectic fashion event for Under Armour in an east London warehouse, not a natural environment for either of us. But he is feeling settled at Palace, back in south London where his story began.
Nketiah was speaking at the official launch of Under Armour's new sportswear collection, The Unstoppable Showcase at Hoxton Docks, where fellow Under Armour athletes Anthony Joshua and Maro Itoje accompanied him
Nketiah was speaking at the official launch of Under Armour's new sportswear collection, The Unstoppable Showcase at Hoxton Docks, where fellow Under Armour athletes Anthony Joshua and Maro Itoje accompanied him (Under Armour)
Nketiah grew up in Lewisham in a religious family, and tells a story of always being late for his under-9s Sunday team Hillyfielders because he’d been at church. The coach would admonish him but Nketiah would make amends with a flurry of goals. He was snapped up by Chelsea but released at 16, when he signed for Arsenal.
“I’ve got friends still in the area,” he says. “I think Crystal Palace as a whole, it just fits me. I feel really comfortable there. I like the way the club is, the morals they have.”
Nketiah wears No 9 but he has started the last four Palace games in an unfamiliar new role under Austrian manager Oliver Glasner, playing as a
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