It’s a shame Malcolm didn’t reach his full potential with us...
ROSENIOR LAMENTS AS EBIOWEI RETURNS TO CRYSTAL PALACE
LIAM Rosenior admits Malcolm Ebiowei did not reach his potential at Hull City after the winger returned to Crystal Palace after an underwhelming loan spell.
Ebiowei arrived in January with a huge amount of expectation, particularly from Rosenior, who spent a significant amount of time courting the former Derby County winger, having made the 19-year-old his prime January target.
After struggling with injury throughout January, the Palace loanee made his debut against Stoke City but found himself in and out of the team, having struggled to live up to Rosenior’s expectations, playing just 12 times.
The youngster was left out of Monday’s squad for the final day draw at Luton Town, along with Dimitrios Pelkas, both of whom will no longer be pursued this summer, despite the City boss being keen to do so just a few weeks ago.
“I think it is, to be honest,” said Rosenior when asked if the pair being left out was an indication that they would not be returning to the club. “Malcolm, we have to remember, is a young player with so much potential. It’s a shame for us that he never realised his potential here with us.”
Pelkas will return to Turkish giants Fenerbahce for discussions over his future in Istanbul after Rosenior opted against making his move permanent.
The Greek international started life at City well, but a knee injury picked up early on at Watford in the first game back after the World Cup break saw him sidelined for three months, and Rosenior says Pelkas struggled after that.
“Dimi was magnificent for me when I first joined, his performances were really, really good, and then he had a bad injury and wasn’t able to get back up to speed at the level that I wanted from him,” he said.
“Both of them, top lad, top characters and I don’t have a bad word to say about either of them and I wish them all the best.”