Elise Hughes: Why the Crystal Palace striker could be hot property in the January window

When Elise Hughes broke onto the scene at Everton back in 2018 at the age of 16, there were high hopes that she could be the one to lead the team’s attack as they sought to challenge at the top of the league.

However, just two years later, it became clear that that was not likely to happen, with her lacking consistency and spending time on loan at Bristol City, which was ended just a few weeks in due to an ACL injury, and Blackburn Rovers, before her time at Walton Hall Park came to an end in 2021.

Since then, she has forged a career in the Championship as she tries to reestablish herself as a striker to fear, and it is safe to say that she has done just that over the last few campaigns, firstly with current league leaders Charlton Athletic and now with one of those chasing them in Crystal Palace.

Last season, with the latter side struggling to keep opponents out, her goals didn’t count for much in the grand scheme of things, but their added robustness in that area this season has meant that her productivity has really stood for something, and it has been largely responsible for turning the south London club’s fortunes around.

What she brings to Crystal Palace

When looking at Hughes’ overall gameplay, what becomes immediately clear is her desire to be a target player and an old-fashioned striker, with her not dropping back into holes as much as some in the modern game do and instead staying as high up the pitch as she can.

In this sense, she is a little like Ellen White was, in that the former England striker was very much an out-and-out striker for club and country and was constantly seen on the shoulder of opposing defensive lines, relying on teammates to give her the right passes that she could then get on the end of.