Parish surely ruing Palace howler over 'special talent', supporters will be gutted - opinion

Crystal Palace’s record of developing first team talent – particularly wide players – has been admirable, with Wilfried Zaha, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Nathaniel Clyne all making names for themselves after graduating from the Eagles’ academy.

Most recently, left-back Tyrick Mitchell has become a first team regular, while Jeserun Rak-Sakyi has become one of the most promising young players in England after his sensational performances this season at under-23 level.

However, one player who could have an excellent career but was let go too soon by Palace is Watford winger Kwadwo Baah, who has become a three-time Germany under-19 international, scoring twice.

After leaving the Eagles aged just 14, the winger moved to Rochdale, where he quickly established himself as a member of the first team despite his young age, playing in seven games during the 2019/20 season, before making five goal contributions in 30 league games in the following campaign.

After Baah first broke into the Rochdale first team, his then-manager Brian Barry-Murphy said: “His talent is exceptional and he’s someone we’re very excited about for the future.

“He’s made a huge impact on the squad already and now he’s working hard behind the scenes with the Youth Team and the Integration Squad to get fully in sync with how we do things at the Club.

“He’s a very special talent and someone who has been asked to play an extraordinary number of minutes because of the situation of our squad over Christmas and New Year.”

However, Baah has struggled this season with an ankle injury after signing for Watford from the League Two club on a free transfer last summer.

The 19-year-old is not yet nearing a return to action, having suffered another ankle injury last week in