Ghana striker Kwesi Appiah will return to English top-flight side Crystal Palace at the end of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations next month after ending his loan stint with fourth tier side Cambridge United, GHANAsoccernet.com can confirm.
Appiah’s temporary spell with Cambridge United run out on January 10, which means he has reverted to his mother club as Palace have opted not to let him stay on loan at Cambridge.
This means he will rejoin the Premier League side after the ongoing African Cup of Nations, the striker who is currently with the Black Stars at the tournament in Equatorial Guinea confirmed.
“I wouldn’t have played for Cambridge United in the FA Cup match against Manchester United because my loan deal with them has ended,” Appiah said when asked if he would have loved to play in the match FA Cup match between Manchester United and Cambridge.
As new coach Alan Pardew who has taken over at Crystal Palace recently and one area he is reportedly keen to improve is in the striker position.
Plenty of names are being mentioned, with one possibility being that a formerly loaned out player could be that striker. Glenn Murray has been on loan at Reading but once banged in the goals for Palace before injury and being inexplicably dropped got in the way of his progress.
But he is not the only goal-getting striker returning from a loan spell.
Kwesi Appiah joined Palace in 2012 after banging in the goals for Margate. He has since gone on to star for Cambridge United this season, a deal which finished this month.
Appiah’s form has been so impressive it even earned him a call-up to the Ghana national team. He was included in the 31 man provisional squad for the Black Stars’ African Cup of Nations onslaught.
And he got off to a great start. In an ‘unofficial’ debut against Portuguese side Olhanense he bagged the second of three goals for Ghana in a 3-0 win, netting in between strikes from Christian Atsu and Jordan Ayew.
At the age of 24 Appiah is coming to the point where he must make his case at Palace or move on permanently, if he can shine in Equatorial Guinea, he might just be the answer to Alan Pardew’s prayers.
